Skip to main content
Past Online Webinar

Webinar | How the Sinaloa Cartel rift is redrawing Mexico’s criminal map

Watch the recorded webinar examining how the fallout of the Sinaloa Cartel dispute has set off a broader realignment of criminal groups in Mexico and opened up opportunities for new conflicts in contested territories.

08:00–09:00, 14 May 2025, Mexico city

Watch on Youtube
CULIACAN, SINALOA, MEXICO, October 22, 2024: Members of the military arrive at a scene where a key mid-level operator for Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was captured following a fierce battle between the military and civilians, leaving 19 civilians dead.

Luis Antonio Rojas for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Speakers

Armando Vargas

Director of Security Programs

Moderator

The arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada,  the former top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel,  in July 2024 marked a breaking point for the Sinaloa Cartel. The arrest led to an all-out war between two of the cartel’s factions, Los Chapitos and El Mayo, leading to a spike in violence in the group’s stronghold in Sinaloa. Violence has also spread to territories controlled and disputed by the Sinaloa Cartel as other criminal groups seek to leverage the fracture for territorial expansion. The outbreak of clashes and attacks following the arrest contributed to 2024 recording some of the highest levels of violence linked to organized crime in Mexico over the last six years.

    Country
    Mexico
    Region
    Latin America and the Caribbean
    Share on