DEA warns of a possible alliance between Los Chapitos and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel once again take center stage in the annual report from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In its 2025 report, the U.S. anti-narcotics agency has warned of a possible alliance between Los Chapitos — a faction engaged in an internal power struggle within the Sinaloa Cartel — and CJNG — the criminal organization led by Nemesio Oseguera, alias “El Mencho” — which is one of Mexico’s most powerful, influential, and ruthless cartels, as well as a key supplier of fentanyl to the neighboring United States.

According to the DEA, the CJNG may be looking to capitalize on the conflict between Los Mayos and Los Chapitos — two factions within the Sinaloa Cartel — essentially siding with its former rivals, the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, against the descendants and followers of another founding figure, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. Both leaders have fallen from power following their respective captures and extraditions to the United States.

“A strategic alliance between CJNG and Los Chapitos has the potential to expand these groups’ territories, resources, firepower, and access to corrupt officials, which could result in significant disruption to the existing balance of criminal power in Mexico and could serve to increase northbound drug flow and the southbound weapons trafficking at the U.S.-Mexico border,” the report states.

For over six months, Sinaloa has been under siege due to an internal war between rival factions vying for control of the state’s main criminal organization. The conflict between El Chapo’s sons and the followers of El Mayo erupted in September 2024 and continues to this day, leaving more than 600 people dead and nearly 800 missing. If the DEA’s findings are accurate, the CJNG — which began over a decade ago as a cell under the command of El Chapo — would further strengthen its operations beyond Mexico’s borders. According to the report, the cartel already has a presence in more than 40 countries.

The DEA made its report public amid renewed tensions with the administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, following rumors of U.S. visa revocations targeting several Mexican officials, including leaders of Sheinbaum’s party, governors, and former cabinet members, over alleged ties to drug trafficking, as reported by ProPublica.

The criminal network led by El Mencho has already established a presence across Mexico, confirming its reach and influence. According to the DEA, the CJNG maintains a “significant presence” in central and southern Mexico. In the north, it also operates in states such as Sonora, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Durango, Coahuila, and Nuevo León.

Another key point highlighted in the report is the role of Los Cuinis — a family clan closely tied to the CJNG and its main financial arm — in leading the cartel’s vast and diverse money laundering network, which aims to repatriate global drug trafficking profits back to Mexico. “This group and other CJNG factions uses Chinese money laundering networks, cryptocurrency exchanges, bulk cash smuggling, trade-based money laundering, and other methods for laundering illicit drug-related proceeds,” the report notes.

Xylazine + fentanyl equals more income

Despite the internal turmoil within its ranks, the Sinaloa Cartel continues its “lucrative expansion” into markets across Europe, Asia, and even Australia. The criminal organization uses its vast distribution networks to transport drugs into the United States, primarily through ports of entry in California and Arizona. Its partners, facilitators, and affiliates operate in nearly all 50 U.S. states.

In Mexico, the cartel maintains a “significant” presence, especially across most of the northern states, with the exception of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Nayarit. In southern Mexico and Mexico City, its influence is also notable. However, it has a more limited footprint in central states like Guanajuato, Michoacán, Colima, Puebla, and Hidalgo. The only state where its presence is nonexistent is Jalisco, which is a CJNG stronghold.

The DEA report also warned that factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are mixing fentanyl with xylazine — a powerful sedative, muscle relaxant, and non-narcotic analgesic used in veterinary medicine. “Factions of Sinaloa Cartel began adding xylazine to batches of fentanyl smuggled into the United States, primarily destined for markets on the East Coast. U.S.-based traffickers also mix xylazine with their fentanyl supply, allowing both groups to stretch fentanyl supplies and generate more revenue,” explains the DEA.

In 2024, the DEA seized nearly 10,000 kilograms of fentanyl, approximately 29% less than in 2023. It also seized 61.1 million fake pills, a 24% decrease from the previous year. “The adulterating of fentanyl with highly potent, dangerous chemicals reminds us that this fight from over,” said DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy in a news release.

Data from the El Paso Intelligence Center’s National Seizure System, which consolidates drug seizure information from federal, state, and local agencies across the United States, indicated a similar trend, with a total of 23,256 kilograms of fentanyl seized in 2024, a decrease from the previous year.

Other cartels on the DEA radar

Beyond the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, the DEA report continues to monitor the six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations under Donald Trump’s blacklist. These include La Familia Michoacana — with a strong presence in Michoacán, Mexico City, and Guerrero — and Carteles Unidos, which is fighting for control of these three states against La Nueva Familia Michoacana. The report highlights their role in distributing massive quantities of methamphetamines, cocaine, and heroin to the United States.

The Cartel del Noreste is also under surveillance, with a “significant presence” in Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. Meanwhile, the Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo) maintains substantial influence in Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz. It operates in approximately 16 U.S. states, mainly in Texas, Oklahoma, California, and across the southeastern United States, where drug trafficking — and especially human trafficking — “represents significant revenue,” according to the DEA.

According to the DEA, Mexican cartels maintain a network of couriers, border tunnels, and stash houses throughout Mexico and the United States to support their trafficking and distribution activities. These operations are bolstered by a wide range of transportation methods, including air cargo, maritime shipments, and land transportation.

Just as the Sinaloa Cartel uses various encryption methods through apps for its communications networks, other Mexican criminal organizations have increasingly used social media platforms to promote pharmaceutical products, recruit and train couriers and distributors, advertise drug sales, communicate with customers, and plan transactions.

The DEA explains that traffickers within Mexico and suppliers based in China employ sophisticated shipping methods and multi-step processes to evade detection and national and international regulatory controls on chemical substances. “They employ a series of international export agents, consignees, facilitators (such as transshipment companies/freight forwarders), and financiers to work within multiple facets of the fentanyl precursor supply chain,” the document states.

Trafficking methods and processes include mislabeling cargo on shipping manifests, using third countries as transshipment points, and exploiting legitimate companies to import chemical substances that are later diverted. The report also warns that criminal organizations in Mexico may expand their precursor chemical supply chains to include manufacturers in India, Europe, and elsewhere to reduce their dependence on Chinese suppliers.

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