DOJ: Sinaloa Cartel’s Influence Extends Well Beyond Border Into ‘Much’ of the U.S.

The Sinaloa criminal cartel uses its control of drug corridors on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border to extend its influence well beyond the border area into “much of the United States,” according to the Department of Justice. U.S. prosecutors have described Sinaloa as “one of the largest narcotics trafficking organizations in the world.” A member of the cartel, who is facing federal charges in Chicago, claims that he was allowed to traffic tons of drugs into the United States under an immunity deal granted by the U.S. government in exchange for information on rival cartels – a deal allegedly linked to the aborted law enforcement operation known as “Fast and Furious.”  The DOJ’s 2011 analysis focuses on HIDTA regions in Arizona. “The Arizona HIDTA region is a major entry point for illicit drugs, particularly marijuana and heroin, transported from Mexico to the United States,” it states. “Approximately half of the marijuana smuggled from Mexico typically transits Arizona HIDTA counties. Seizure statistics indicate that Mexican traffickers are increasing marijuana and heroin smuggling from Mexico into the region. “The Sinaloa Cartel represents the greatest organized criminal drug threat in the Ari­zona HIDTA counties through its continued dominance over drug trafficking into and through the region.”...more 

Here are some excerpts from the report:

Mexican-based TCOs dominate the supply,

trafficking, and wholesale distribution of

most illicit drugs in the United States. Various

other TCOs operate throughout the country,

but none impacts the U.S. drug trade as significantly

as Mexican-based traffickers. Reasons

for Mexican organizations’ dominance include

their control of smuggling routes across the

U.S. Southwest Border and their capacity to

produce, transport, and/or distribute cocaine,

heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine.

The Southwest Border remains the primary

gateway for moving illicit drugs into

the United States. Most illicit drugs available in

the United States are smuggled overland

across the Southwest Border, although increased

border security appears to be forcing

traffickers to increase their use of alternative

methods such as noncommercial vessels and

ultralight aircraft.

Increasing cooperation among Sureños

gangsi in the Southwest Region, including

alliances within correctional facilities, will

increase their involvement in wholesale smuggling

and will help the southern Californiabased

La Eme prison gang solidify its influence

over most Sureños gangs in the border

region.43 Sureños gang members have migrated

from southern California to cities in Arizona,

New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas,

increasing cooperation among Sureños gang

members within and outside correctional

facilities in the Southwest. Such migration

will continue for the foreseeable future.

Sureños gang members, particularly those

from southern California, are also migrating to

other areas of the country, including locations

in the Great Lakes, Pacific, and West Central

Regions, in an apparent effort to expand their

drug distribution operations.

The primary gateway for illicit drug smuggling

to the United States is the Southwest

Border. Smugglers under the direction of

Mexican traffickers move most of the cocaine,

heroin, foreign-produced marijuana, and

foreign-produced methamphetamine available

in this country through, between, and around

land border crossings in Arizona, California,

New Mexico, and Texas (see Figure 1). Traffickers

use every other avenue imaginable—

air, sea, and the U.S.–Canada border—to

smuggle drugs into the United States, but the

volume moved across the U.S.–Mexico border

significantly exceeds that moved through all

other routes combined.

Mexican TCOs are increasingly avoiding

Southwest Border security by smuggling

illicit drugs using ultralight aircraft. Smuggling

via ultralights has increased since 2008,

with several hundred incidents reported in

FY2010.69 Most incidents occur in central

Arizona and western New Mexico.70 Loads

can exceed 100 kilograms and mainly involve

marijuana.71

Violent infighting among rival Mexican
TCOs, at least partially attributable to
competition over control of lucrative crossing
points along the Southwest Border, is
occurring mainly on the Mexico side of the
border. Criminal activity such as kidnappings
and home invasion robberies directed
against individuals involved in drug trafficking
has been reported in some U.S. border
communities, but limitations on the data
make it difficult to assess whether such
activity is increasing. Despite an overall
decline in general violence from 2009 to
2010, incidents of violence directed against
U.S. law enforcement officers over the past
year increased in many areas along the
Southwest Border, apparently as a result of
heightened counterdrug operations.