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With El Chapo having been arrested and extradited, the Sinaloa cartel reduces its presence in Mexico. Data from the PGR reveals that the activity of that organization has decreased in the country.
The cartel has gone from having a presence in eleven states, and now only operate in seven and with less criminal cells in operation.
The presence of the Sinaloa Cartel in the states of the country has been on the decline since the extradition to the United States of its leader, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, last January.
In 2017, El Chapo’s organization lost its presence in the Mexican Pacific area, in states such as Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco, where it has surrendered territory to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
The Sinaloa organization has also ceased operations in the Yucatan peninsula, according to information from the Attorney General's Office (PGR) regarding criminal organizations with operations in the country.
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Where the Sinaloa cartel is still active is in northwest Mexico with presence in Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango, Coahuila, Baja California, Baja California Sur and Sonora.
Sinaloa Cartel's activity using criminal cells also declined: since 2015 data revealed that El Chapo operated with up to ten criminal groups, but in the first four months of this year there are only records that the cartel has a relationship with seven cells: Los Artistas Asesinos, Gente Nueva, Los Cabrera, el Cártel del Poniente; and bands associated with El Aquiles, El Tigre and Del 28.
Joaquin Guzman Loera was extradited to the United States on January 19, 2017 and is detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal prison in New York City.
Prosecutors in charge of the case argue that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the capo in the United States for at least 17 separate crimes including money laundering, criminal conduct, and conspiracy to produce and distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana; as well as the use of firearms for the commission of drug offenses.
Federal officials have said that the extradition of the Chapo caused a reorganization in the leadership of the Sinaloa cartel; as well as the advance of other criminal organizations such as the CJNG which, as the official data shows, is already the criminal group having greatest presence in the country.
The power of the Sinaloa Cartel diminishes by half
The latest official records show, for the first time in 40 years, that the Sinaloa Cartel loses its presence in the country.
But before his extradition to the United States, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman led the most powerful criminal organization, which managed to extend its influence to 24 of the country's 32 entities. So far, no other organization has operated in so many states and has long resisted the onslaught of the federal government to weaken it.
With El Chapo Guzman, the Sinaloa Cartel was the first criminal organization to successfully participate and lead the trafficking of four drugs: marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
NarcoData has recorded the progress of the Sinaloa Cartel in the country since its inception in the 1980s.
In the beginning of the term of Enrique Peña Nieto, Sinaloa was the organization with more presence in the country but according to data of PGR, it has lost almost half of its area of influence yielding ground in the western states of the country.