Biggest include border states, Illinois, New York, and perhaps surprisingly – Massachusetts.
The DEA assessment claims there are four organizations inside the “umbrella” of the Sinaloa Cartel, which are –
- Chapitos
- Mayo
- Guano (Brother of El Chapo)
- Caro Quintero
(Caro Quintero is in prison and this analysis of him surprises me. I would think Chapo Isidro.)
The DEA assessment cites continued corruption in Mexico – “The Sinaloa Cartel is able to operate freely in some parts of Mexico because they have a network of corrupt law enforcement, military and political contacts.”
The DEA assessment says the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is now the largest cocaine supplier to the US.
The cartel is a main supplier of cocaine to U.S. markets, especially on the East Coast, and they also traffic ton quantities of heroin and marijuana into the United States.”
The DEA assessment highlights the CJNG’s global expansion.
“The Jalisco Cartel is active in over 40 countries in South America, Asia, Europe, and Africa..It established distribution hubs in Spain in early 2023, as part of their ongoing plan to expand into European drug markets”
The DEA reveal “Operation Last Mile” vs Sinaloa and CJNG in the US. It says cartels in US use “Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat – and encrypted messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Wire, and Wickr, to coordinate logistics, communicate with victims”
The DEA highlights the use of “ghost guns” or privately made firearms (PMFs) by drug dealing gangs in the United States.
It emphasizes increased use of 3D printing to make these. And it says tracing of machine gun conversion devices (MCDs) have increased 180%.
