STORYLINE · active
Cartel massacres and territorial wars, US pressure on Claudia Sheinbaum's security strategy, and Trump's terrorist designation threats
Federal prosecutors have charged four suspects with trafficking more than one ton of cocaine for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel using a fake retail store in San Diego as the front for a sophisticated subterranean tunnel that ran across…
3 MIN READMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday publicly urged U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson to focus on the bilateral agenda and refrain from commenting on Mexico's domestic political affairs, citing constitutional principles of…
3 MIN READThe U.S. imposed sanctions Wednesday on more than a dozen people, a Mexican restaurant and a security firm it linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and fentanyl trafficking, the State Department and Treasury said. The Treasury Department’s…
3 MIN READThe U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions Wednesday on more than a dozen people, a Mexican restaurant and a security firm it links to fentanyl trafficking tied to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. The Treasury Department said the designations cut targets…
3 MIN READGunmen killed at least 10 people, including a child, in the town of Tehuitzingo in Mexico’s Puebla state in the early hours of Sunday, according to a statement from the state’s public security agency.
3 MIN READMexican authorities said at least 10 people were killed in an attack by gunmen in Tehuitzingo, a town in Mexico’s Puebla state. The Puebla public security agency said the victims included six men, three women and a child, all shot in the…
3 MIN READIn a Mexican state rife with drug cartel violence, civilian search groups dig through suspected grave sites, conducting the investigations that authorities have largely abandoned. More than 130,000 people have been reported missing in…
4 MIN READA wave of cartel drone and gunfire attacks on small Náhuatl towns in Guerrero state forced hundreds of Indigenous residents to flee their homes last week, leaving the elderly, wounded, and displaced sheltering under a basketball court…
3 MIN READBombs and drone-fired explosives have forced residents of Tula in Mexico’s Guerrero state to flee, with many family members describing ruined homes, lingering fear and few resources to rebuild. The Associated Press visited people displaced…
3 MIN READIn a federal court appearance in Manhattan, Gerardo Mérida Sánchez, a former Sinaloa state secretary of public security, was ordered jailed after U.S. authorities charged him with helping the Sinaloa Cartel smuggle drugs into the United…
4 MIN READMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and the CIA on Wednesday vehemently denied a CNN report that the U.S. intelligence agency facilitated a targeted killing of a Sinaloa cartel member on Mexican soil, with Sheinbaum calling the story a…
3 MIN READMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday denied a CNN report that the CIA carried out deadly operations in Mexico, saying the U.S.-based network was trying to “hurt the government and the people of Mexico.”
3 MIN READThe U.S. Justice Department is targeting money brokers it says help Mexico’s violent drug cartels move drug proceeds, increasingly using cryptocurrency, prosecutors said in cases filed in Kentucky federal court. The defendants, transferred…
3 MIN READBetween 800 and 1,000 families fled their homes in the mountains of Guerrero, Mexico, on Sunday after four days of bombardment with drone‑launched explosives and gunfire from the criminal group Los Ardillos, community representatives said.…
3 MIN READ
More than 800 families fled their homes in rural mountainous areas of Mexico’s Guerrero state as gunmen attacked communities with handmade explosives launched from drones and other weapons, community and human rights groups said. The…
3 MIN READPresident Donald Trump signed off on a new U.S. counterterrorism strategy that makes eliminating drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere the administration’s highest priority, the White House announced Wednesday. The 16-page document also…
3 MIN READTwo senior members of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party in Sinaloa state announced they would temporarily leave office after a U.S. indictment accused them and eight other politicians and security officers of protecting…
3 MIN READThe U.S. on Wednesday unsealed a federal indictment in Manhattan charging the governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, Rubén Rocha Moya, and nine other current and former Mexican officials with drug trafficking and weapons offenses. Prosecutors…
3 MIN READPresident Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico will investigate a U.S. indictment of 10 current and former officials accused in New York of drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, and she vowed Mexico would not…
3 MIN READUn hombre abrió fuego en la zona arqueológica de Teotihuacán, al noreste de Ciudad de México, y murió después. Una canadiense murió y 13 personas más —incluidas varias de Estados Unidos y otras nacionalidades— resultaron heridas; la…
3 MIN READU.S. officials were working for the CIA when two of them died in a vehicle crash in northern Mexico while returning from a mission to destroy a clandestine drug lab, AP reported, citing a U.S. official and other people familiar with the…
3 MIN READMexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said she will demand explanations after U.S. Embassy instructors died in a crash in northern Chihuahua following an operation to destroy a clandestine drug lab. She said her government was not informed of…
3 MIN READA planned confrontation among young people escalated into a mass shooting Monday morning at a public park in Winston-Salem, N.C., leaving two teenage boys dead and five others wounded, authorities said. The two fatalities were 16 and 17…
3 MIN READWashington is using cartel indictments to run Mexico and calling it cartel-fighting.
A longtime Drug Enforcement Administration informant was sentenced Wednesday in Austin, Texas, to time served after pleading guilty to failing to report $3.8 million in DEA payments on his federal tax returns. Andres Zapata, 48, a Colombian-American dual national and professional money launderer, received the sentence as part of a cooperation agreement in a decade-long investigation into agent misconduct, according to two people not authorized to discuss the inquiry who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
U.S. military forces struck a vessel Wednesday in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three men the Pentagon said were trafficking drugs, the Southern Command said. No U.S. personnel were harmed, according to the command.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned three individuals and two casinos this week over alleged links to Mexico’s Cartel del Noreste, which Washington has intensified its crackdown on. The designations include casinos in Nuevo Laredo and Tampico, and individuals described by U.S. authorities as helping the cartel move people and provide illicit support.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum visited the western state of Jalisco on Friday, a senior security briefing held after a wave of violence that authorities linked to the killing of a top cartel boss. The visit came with fewer than 100 days before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Guadalajara among the host cities.
Mexican authorities returned the body of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” to his family after the Mexican army killed him last week, officials said. The Attorney General’s Office said it completed “all the necessary procedural protocols,” including genetic testing to confirm the family’s blood ties. Violence that followed the killing killed more than 70 people across about 20 states, authorities and analysts said.
Families in Guadalajara, Jalisco, are hanging thousands of fliers with photos of people who were forcibly disappeared, saying authorities are trying to make it easier to remove the signs ahead of the FIFA World Cup. The conflict follows violence after the killing of the cartel leader known as “El Mencho,” and some search groups say they have had to suspend investigations.
The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that it will pay up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of brothers Rene Arzate Garcia, 42, and Alfonso Arzate Garcia, 52, who are alleged to control the Sinaloa cartel’s key trafficking hub at Tijuana. The reward—$5 million for each brother—targets a critical node that the department says gives the cartel a tactical advantage at the busiest border crossing in the Western Hemisphere. A superseding indictment was also filed against Rene Arzate Garcia on charges that include conspiracy, narcoterrorism and material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
As spring break approaches, security and travel-risk experts urged travelers to assess Mexico destinations carefully after cartel-related violence flared in parts of the country last weekend.
People in Mexico fled to online information during unrest after Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” was killed, but social media posts depicting a country in chaos spread faster than verified reporting. Mexican officials and a private university said many of the viral claims involved misleading content and images generated by artificial intelligence, including false messages that gunmen had seized an airport and that the president was hiding on a naval vessel.
Mexican forces killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” in an operation in Jalisco that Mexico’s Defense Ministry said was supported by U.S. intelligence. The death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) was followed by arson, looting and road blockades across 20 Mexican states, according to authorities.
Gunfire and explosions in Jalisco, Mexico, on Feb. 24 amplified local worries about whether Guadalajara can host FIFA World Cup matches as the country’s drug war churns. President Claudia Sheinbaum and Jalisco Gov. Jesús Pablo Lemus said there is “no risk” for fans and that World Cup venues will not change, after Mexico’s military killed cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.”
Mexican authorities said Monday they killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader, during a special forces operation in Jalisco on Sunday. The Mexican Defense Secretary, Gen. Ricardo Trevilla, said the effort followed surveillance of a romantic partner and included U.S. intelligence information.
A severe winter snowstorm across the northeastern United States, violence following a powerful cartel leader's killing in Mexico, and a partial government shutdown converged Monday to disrupt air travel, with airlines canceling more than 5,600 flights. The overlapping crises cascaded through ground transportation networks and complicated border operations.
The Mexican army killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho, on February 23 during an operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said. The death of the leader of the Jalisco Cartel Nueva Generación—Mexico's fastest-growing drug trafficking organization and one of the world's largest fentanilo suppliers—triggered immediate and widespread cartel retaliation across the country, with hundreds of highway blockades, arson attacks, and assaults on authorities.
The Mexican army killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and one of the world's most wanted drug traffickers, during an operation Sunday in Jalisco state. Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said the killing marked the government's most significant victory against organized crime in more than a decade. Cartel gunmen responded with violence across Mexico, torching cars and blocking roads in 20 states.
Mexican soldiers killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in a shootout Sunday in the town of Tapalpa. His death triggered a surge in violence across Mexico, with cartel gunmen blocking more than 250 roads across 20 states and setting fire to vehicles. More than 70 people died in the operation and its aftermath, authorities said Monday.
The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel on Sunday after an operation to capture him in Jalisco state, the Defense Department said. Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," was wounded during the military operation in Tapalpa on February 22 and died while being transported to Mexico City, authorities said. The operation marked a major victory for the Trump administration's push to crack down on drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States. The White House said it provided intelligence support for the operation.
In coastal mountain towns in Sinaloa, Mexico, residents and families searched for answers after 10 employees were abducted from a Canadian-owned silver and gold mine in late January. The bodies of five were found nearby, and authorities had not identified the remaining five as of the AP report, as fighting between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel continues to drive fear and displacement.
Airspace over El Paso, Texas, was temporarily closed on Wednesday, prompting concern along the U.S.-Mexico border and focusing attention on how Mexican drug cartels use drones. The Associated Press reported that U.S. officials and Mexican government data say the unmanned aircraft help cartels smuggle fentanyl, surveil territory, and carry out attacks.
The FAA closed airspace over El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday for several hours after the Pentagon allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to use an anti-drone laser earlier this week, according to two people familiar with the situation. The Trump administration said the shutdown stemmed from efforts by the FAA and Pentagon to stop a possible incursion by Mexican cartel drones, and the restrictions were lifted after flights resumed.
Mexico’s attorney general’s office said Monday that five of 10 workers missing from a mine operated by Canadian firm Vizsla Silver Corp. in Sinaloa have been identified among 10 bodies found in clandestine graves. The company said families informed it that its colleagues taken from the Concordia project site were found deceased, while authorities said the remaining bodies were awaiting identification.
Mexican authorities said they found bodies and remains in Sinaloa in an area where a search is under way for 10 workers reported missing from a Canadian gold and silver mine. The Attorney General’s Office said one of the bodies had “characteristics of one of the people reported as missing,” and it reported arrests of four people believed to be tied to the disappearances.
Mexico’s nationwide ban on selling electronic cigarettes has forced legal vape shops to close while organized crime and unregulated products move in, researchers and shop owners say. The ban took effect Jan. 16, and lawyers say a lack of clear implementation rules has created opportunities for extortion and uncertainty for consumers. In the U.S., vaping remains legal and regulated, even as regulators and scientists continue debating risks and benefits.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that operations on Mexican soil are carried out by Mexican forces, after U.S. officials described a joint operation that led to the detention of former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding. Sheinbaum made the comments at a daily press conference following a phone call with President Donald Trump in which, she said, the two did not discuss Wedding’s arrest.
Mexico is investigating a soccer field attack in Salamanca, Guanajuato, in which gunmen killed at least 11 people and injured 12 others during a gathering after an amateur match, according to authorities. The attack took place Monday, a day after the killings, and sparked an ongoing probe, state and federal security moves, and appeals for federal help.
Mexican lawyers and family members accused the government on Monday of violating the law by sending nearly 100 cartel members to the United States without extradition orders. The challenge centers on 37 cartel suspects transferred recently as Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum seeks to maintain cooperation with the Trump administration, which has pressed Mexico to intensify its cartel crackdown.
Mexico transferred 37 suspected members of the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel to the United States on Tuesday at the request of the U.S. Justice Department. President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that the decision was a "sovereign decision" by Mexico's National Security Council, made after analyzing what was "convenient for Mexico" and in line with its "national security." U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the transfer a "landmark achievement" in combating cartels.
Mexican authorities said they arrested an alleged organized crime figure known as “El Botox” in connection with the killing of an outspoken leader of the state’s lime growers. The arrest was announced by Mexico City-based Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch on Thursday, according to AP.
Mexico’s security minister said Tuesday that Mexico has sent another 37 people tied to drug cartels to the United States, as President Donald Trump pressures governments to crack down on trafficking networks. Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s security minister, said the transferred people were “high impact criminals” in a post on X. Mexico said the transfers are part of a broader effort that has sent 92 detained cartel members to the U.S. in total since the government began the program.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum moved to calm concerns after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warned U.S. aircraft to “exercise caution” over the eastern Pacific near Mexico and other parts of the Americas, citing “military activities.” She said her government waited for “written” assurance that there would be no U.S. military flights over Mexican territory.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that Mexico’s efforts to crack down on cartels and reduce migration north are producing “compelling results,” as the Trump administration signals potential new steps against trafficking groups. The remarks came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mexico’s Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente issued a joint statement following a phone call agreeing that “more must be done to confront shared threats.”
