Sinaloa cartel quickly losing territories, influence, Mexico says

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Mexico’s Secretary of Defense says the Sinaloa cartel is quickly losing its power, territories and influence in Mexico, adding that its downfall began in earnest when one its leaders, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was arrested in the United States last year.

The Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) has been reportedly carving into the Sinaloa cartel’s domain in several Mexican states, including Chiapas, Sonora, Jalisco and Chihuahua.

Other cartels such as “La Linea” and “Los Beltrán Leyva,” are also taking territories away from their counterparts in the Sinaloa cartel.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office says the Sinaloa cartel is on its heels as it tries to retain vital smuggling routes into the U.S. along the Pacific Ocean in cities such as Tijuana and the state of Baja California.

Prosecutors say the cartel, considered to be the most powerful in Mexico for decades, has lost control in many markets including Hidalgo, Tapachula, Huixtla, Mapastepec, Pijijiapan, Tonalá y Arriaga along with all smuggling routes on the Mexico-Guatemala border.

A civil war within the Sinaloa cartel has also weakened the crime syndicate to the point it has lost control of 30 of its 42 routes and/or distribution centers it once dominated, Mexico’s attorny general says.