Mexico's Cartel Map: The Major Drug Empires And Where They Rule

The hills of Jalisco echoed with gunfire before dawn on Sunday. By the time the smoke cleared, Mexico's most wanted man, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, or El Mencho, was bleeding in the back of a military vehicle.

He was wounded during a raid by Mexican forces and did not survive the flight to Mexico City.

With his death, the iron-fisted leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most feared and fastest-growing drug empires in the world, was gone.

If history is any guide, the killing of a cartel kingpin rarely ends the war.

The Cartels That Control Mexico

Mexico's criminal underworld is not run by one empire. It is a changing battlefield of powerful organisations that control territory, trafficking routes, political influence, and global drug supply chains.

Here are the major players:

Sinaloa Cartel

Territory: Northwest Mexico - Sinaloa, Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango.

US Influence: West Coast, Midwest, Northeast.

Once led by Joaquín Guzman, or El Chapo, the Sinaloa Cartel remains the most entrenched and globally connected trafficking organisation in Mexico. Even after Guzman's life sentence in the US, the cartel did not collapse. Instead, it fragmented into factions, those aligned with his son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez.

About Sinaloa:

• Dominant supplier of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl to the US.
• Deep logistics networks across Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
• Maintains strongholds in northern Mexico.
• Controls major Pacific trafficking corridors.

US intelligence assessments have repeatedly identified Sinaloa as the cartel with the broadest US footprint particularly across the West Coast and Midwest.

Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)

Territory: Western Mexico - Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Guanajuato.

US Influence: Expanding West Coast presence.

Now leaderless after El Mencho's death, CJNG rose from a regional militia around 2010 into Mexico's most aggressive expansionist cartel.

Under El Mencho, the group

• Shot down a military helicopter.
• Publicly displayed mass executions.
• Used military-grade weapons.
• Rapidly seized territory from rivals, especially Los Zetas.

CJNG became a dominant synthetic drug exporter, especially methamphetamine and fentanyl precursors sourced through Pacific ports.

Its growth was fuelled by extreme violence and intimidation tactics designed to terrify rivals and local officials alike.

What happens now?

El Mencho's death could trigger:

• A violent succession battle.
• Fragmentation into rival factions.
• Territory grabs by Sinaloa or regional groups.

Gulf Cartel

Territory: Northeast Mexico - Tamaulipas (border region).

US Influence: Southwest border corridors.

One of Mexico's oldest trafficking organisations, the Gulf Cartel built its empire along the US-Mexico border.

Once a cocaine superhighway operator with Colombian ties, it later fractured after the arrests and deaths of key leaders.

Today

• It operates in splintered factions.
• Engages in turf wars with former allies.
• Controls pockets of northeastern smuggling routes.

Los Zetas

Territory: Northeast Mexico

US Influence: Border-heavy, declining inland reach.

Born from elite Mexican special forces deserters, Los Zetas became known for their brutality.

• They perfected paramilitary tactics.
• Diversified into kidnapping and extortion.
• Publicised beheadings and mass killings.

After the arrests of leaders, including Omar Trevino Morales, the organisation splintered.

Mexico's drug war kills thousands every year. Cartels wield -

• Military-grade arsenals
• Corrupt political networks
• Global trafficking infrastructure
• Multi-billion-dollar revenue streams.

El Mencho is dead, but cartel history suggests this will not quiet Mexico's drug war. When El Chapo was imprisoned, violence spiked as factions fought for control. When Zetas leaders were captured, splinter groups multiplied.