Latest News
Newest cartel reporting and translated news from Cartel Insider, updated as stories publish.
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Unconfirmed Reports of El Abuelo’s Capture in Tepalcatepec
Reports out of Tepalcatepec, Michoacán, say Juan José Farías Álvarez, “El Abuelo,” was captured during a major security operation. His detention remained unconfirmed as of 7:20 p.m. CDT on October 6.
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FEU Leaves MZ Gunman Dead With Warning in Southern Sinaloa
Reports from southern Sinaloa indicate that members of Fuerzas Especiales Unión (FEU), the alliance between Los Chapitos and CJNG, left the body of an alleged MZ gunman alongside a handwritten message. The exact location has not yet been independently confirmed. Sign reads: “Marcelo, this territory must be respected. Signed, F.E.U.”
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Los Chapitos Commander Describes a New Cartel Structure With CJNG
A commander within Los Chapitos has described to me a restructuring led by Iván Archivaldo that brings the group, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and regional partners into a broader organization. The source calls the arrangement the “New Sinaloa Cartel–CJNG.” The account describes new agreements and leadership changes against the backdrop of the war…
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AMLO Calls U.S. Actions Regarding the Capture of ‘El Mayo Zambada’ ‘Extrajudicial and Interventionist’
In his new book titled *Pueblo* (People), former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described the capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada—and the U.S. intervention involved in his arrest—as the most serious point of contention with President Joseph Biden’s administration during the final months of his own term. According to the text, the former president accused…
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Aquiles Cell Arrested with Drugs and Weapons
On the night of October 4, at approximately 8:39 p.m., five individuals—four men and one woman—were detained by officers from the State Citizen Security Force (FESC) assigned to Tijuana. They were identified as April Nicole Rodríguez Reyes (19, from Los Angeles, California), Felipe de Jesús Sifuentes Medina (21, born in Tijuana), Pedro López González (60,…
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What’s on Mica’s Phone
Here are some pictures and videos from the past week or so on my phone. Comment for context on any of them.
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“They Treat Us Very Badly”: Children Recruited by Mexican Cartels Recount Their Experiences
I’m 15 years old. I was recruited by the Jalisco cartel. Organized crime stole their childhood. More than 30,000 Mexican children and adolescents have ended up in clandestine recruitment camps. They taught us to assemble and disassemble weapons—everything—but with abuse: beatings with boards, physical blows. The military does nothing against them. This young man, only…
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“El 500,” An Alleged Operator of the Sinaloa Cartel in Tijuana, Has Been Captured
Luis Adán Torales Castillo, aka “El 500”—identified as an alleged operator for the Sinaloa Cartel in Tijuana, was arrested early Saturday morning, October 3, in Playas de Rosarito, Baja California, during a joint operation by state and federal authorities. The 32-year-old man, a native of Veracruz, was located in the Villas Costa Rica neighborhood while…
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From “El Vicentillo” to “El Pilo”: The Major Informants on Mexican Drug Cartels in the Service of U.S. Justice
Although many cases have been built on intelligence gathered by various U.S. agencies, many others have been based on a common element within the world of organized crime: betrayal. The history of drug trafficking in Mexico has repeatedly shown that the only ways out of that world are prison or death. While many members and…
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“Mayito Flaco” is Located by the DEA in Mexico City; The Agency Issues a Wanted Notice
This is the updated wanted poster for Ismael Zambada-Sicairos, alias “El Mayito Flaco,” released this Wednesday, September 30, by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It reveals that he was last located in Mexico City and identifies him as being involved in a conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. The DEA has provided a telephone…
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Sicarios Linked to Benny 17 Kill Alleged Mayos Member on Camera
A graphic video circulating online allegedly shows members of Benny 17, a La Chapiza cell operating around Villa Unión, killing a man identified as a member of Los Mayos. Cartel Watch reports the victim may have been linked to Los Flechas and the Cabrera Sarabia organization in Sinaloa.
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Who Are the 21 Individuals and Companies Linked to ‘La Mayiza’ Sanctioned by the United States?
At some point yesterday, you or I likely came across the word OFAC. What is it? Well, it is the Office of Foreign Assets Control within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which sanctioned 21 individuals and 25 companies linked to the “Mayiza” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Notable figures include its leader, Ismael Zambada;…
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Mexico’s Deadliest Female Hitmen | Women Who Killed for the Cartels
These 10 female hitmen—or *sicarias*—are proof that the Mexican drug trade was never just a man’s game, and at least seven of them are dead or serving life sentences for proving it. A hitman captured in 2010 confessed to federal police that within just one cartel—La Línea—between 20 and 30 women were actively working as…
