HomeNewsBriefDid the US Help Sinaloa Cartel Win Turf War?
BRIEF

Did the US Help Sinaloa Cartel Win Turf War?

JUAREZ CARTEL / 3 JUL 2014 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

A prominent news site has released information suggesting US officials allowed informants from Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel to continue trafficking drugs during a turf war with the Juarez Cartel, but did officials really aim to help the cartel gain the upper hand in the conflict?

Based on federal court and police records, testimony and interviews, the Daily Beast reported that the actions of US agencies between 2007 and 2010 "directly served the interests of El Chapo [cartel boss Joaquin Guzman] and the Sinaloa Cartel." As evidence of this, the publication pointed to claims and indications that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials processed visas for Sinaloa Cartel informants that facilitated the movement of major drug shipments into the US, helping fund the groups' war with the Juarez Cartel.

In the case of Fernando Arambula, a high-ranking Sinaloa lieutenant who reportedly continued moving multi-ton marijuana shipments during his time as an informant, his lawyer claimed after his 2010 arrest that the US Attorney's Office had given him license to move freely across the border. 

ICE Special Agent Louie Gomez later said in court that the agency had been informed of Arambula's continued illicit activity by an unidentified government body prior to his arrest.

Another case was that of Mario Nuñez Meza, alias "M10," a Sinaloa plaza chief who worked in Chihuahua and is believed to be responsible for some 388 murders. Between 2007 and 2008 he was allowed free entry to the US to meet with ICE officials, according to a former police captain and informant.

InSight Crime Analysis

The Daily Beast's report adds to previous claims the US government has favored the Sinaloa Cartel over other Mexican groups and facilitated their activities. Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla, the son of Sinaloa leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, also claimed after his 2009 arrest that the US allowed him to continue trafficking cocaine in exchange for information.

SEE ALSO: Sinaloa Cartel News and Profiles

Nonetheless, there is reason to be cautious with the analysis. US meetings with cartel informants are a common tactic used to glean information, and while unsavory, the idea these informants are given certain privileges is not particularly surprising. The provision of a free US pass for Sinaloa informants does not necessarily indicate the US aimed to give the cartel a strategic advantage in the Juarez war, as the Daily Beast suggests.

The case may speak more of how government investigations can go wrong -- like the infamous "Fast and Furious" anti-gun trafficking operation that turned into a gun-running disaster. There have also been various cases of officials allegedly turning a blind eye to criminal activity on the border, while over 2,000 US officials have been investigated this year for suspected cartel links.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

CHINA AND CRIME / 14 APR 2022

The full threat posed to Mexico's biodiversity by both Mexican and Chinese organized crime networks has been revealed in a…

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 24 AUG 2022

A new rule in the United States seeks to stem the flow of ghost guns, bought in parts online and…

COCAINE / 17 FEB 2022

The discovery of two bodies hanging from a bridge in Ecuador may be the starkest sign yet of the country’s…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…