The man sitting in front of us belongs to the Sinaloa Cartel \u2014 one of the most powerful and feared criminal networks in the world \u2014 and one the US government recently designated a foreign terrorist organization. <\/p>\n
This is a gang that \u201cmurder, rape, torture and exercise total control\u2026 posing a great threat to (the United States\u2019) national security,\u201d according to US President Donald Trump, who has promised to \u201cwage war\u201d against Mexico\u2019s cartels. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s taken weeks to reach this man, verify his identity, and persuade him to talk with us. Our contact on the ground here in the Mexican state of Sinaloa has repeatedly reassured him we are not the police. Or DEA agents. Or the CIA. <\/p>\n
We arrive at a nondescript house in a residential area on the southern side of Culiac\u00e1n city and are instructed to cover our camera on the way in. It\u2019s a neighborhood that\u2019s known to be populated by cartels. Once inside, we\u2019re taken to a dimly lit bedroom at the back of the house. A giant painting of Jesus Christ is nailed to the wall, above a rusty looking bed caked in dust. An older, beefy man stands by the window, holding a walkie-talkie close to his ear and anxiously glancing up and down the street where cars and military vehicles pass by. <\/p>\n
The cartel member \u2014 now a terrorist in the eyes of the US government \u2014 sits in one corner of the room. He has a firm handshake and a hefty build. He wears a \u201cJoker\u201d movie baseball cap pulled down over his head, a scarf wrapped tightly around his face, sunglasses to disguise his eyes, and blue latex gloves to cover the tattoos on his hands. Propped up by his chair is an assault rifle. Next to that are two more walkie-talkies, from which cartel look-outs provide a constant stream of feedback on the movements of the Mexican military. <\/p>\n
He says he produces fentanyl \u2014 the synthetic opioid that has become the most common drug involved in overdose deaths in the United States. <\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, of course, things are sad,\u201d says the man, who didn\u2019t give his real name. \u201c(But) you have to continue\u2026 Families have to eat,\u201d he shrugs. <\/p>\n
For nearly two decades, Mexican authorities have been waging a battle against the cartels, with limited results. And for over five decades, various US presidents have declared wars on drugs. But amid fresh waves of cartel violence and pressure from Trump in the form of threatened US military intervention and higher import tariffs, President Claudia Sheinbaum has adopted a more head-on approach to tackling the issue. (Her predecessor Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s \u201chugs, not bullets\u201d stance proved woefully ineffective.) <\/p>\n
Around 10,000 members of Mexico\u2019s National Guard have been sent to their northern border, in part to stop the flow of narcotics from entering the US. And hundreds of soldiers are believed to have joined preexisting armed forces, marines, National Guards and law enforcement already stationed in Sinaloa state, home to the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel previously led by the notorious drug lord Joaqu\u00edn \u201cEl Chapo\u201d Guzm\u00e1n. <\/p>\n
The precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl are largely sourced from China, before being cooked up in labs across Mexico, where cartels have well-established control over entire territories \u2014 and relatively easy access to the US market. (The Mexican government denies that fentanyl is produced in country, claiming instead that most of the synthetic labs they discover are being used to make methamphetamine.) <\/p>\n
Business these days is not good, the cartel member says, acknowledging that the Sinaloa Cartel itself has been significantly weakened by the military\u2019s actions. But they can still survive. Only small quantities of the drug can be produced, he explains, as the group needs to stay nimble in case the authorities carry out impromptu raids. <\/p>\n
Using smaller reactors and cooking equipment allows them to dismantle their operation at a moment\u2019s notice, and to smuggle these manageable quantities of drugs through different neighborhoods \u2014 and eventually over the border. Sometimes they move location for different stages of production, ensuring they\u2019re only in one area for a short period of time. The cartels are also pouring additional resources into surveillance to keep tabs on the police and military. And much of the production has moved to other states, where the Mexican military has less of a presence. <\/p>\n
Crammed into a Blackhawk helicopter with the Mexican military, the challenges of disrupting the drug trade can be seen in the sprawling landscape below. <\/p>\n
Sinaloa state stretches out for over 22,000 square miles, and the soldiers scour the mountainous terrain beneath them for any signs of tracks, electrical wires or water supplies that could lead to a hideout where drugs are produced. Given that these operations have mostly moved out of the city and are now tucked away somewhere in this vast countryside, they\u2019re much harder to spot. <\/p>\n
Fields of marijuana and poppies (used to make heroin) are more visible, but the synthetic drug labs can pop up anywhere and often require only rudimentary equipment: pots, pans, basic protective gear to stop the workers from breathing in toxic fumes, plastic vats where the chemicals are mixed, small reactors used to \u201ccook\u201d the final product and a sheet of tarpaulin that hangs above, so their operation is not visible from the military\u2019s helicopters or drones. <\/p>\n
On a visit to one recently discovered meth lab, it was apparent that a small team of cartel employees had been working here up until the day before. The military rarely catch the culprits, who likely scarper as soon as they see the helicopter landing. Left behind are parts of a reactor and big plastic containers of liquid meth, along with piles of perishable food, water and even a pair of jeans \u2014 signs that they\u2019d been camped up in this area for several days. <\/p>\n
Mexican soldiers wearing gas masks and white Hazmat suits smash through the remaining equipment in sweltering 96-degree Fahrenheit heat, stopping occasionally to mop up sweat pouring from their faces. <\/p>\n
A sign was nailed to a post at the entrance of the lab. It read \u201cTo make a deal: Cell phone\u201d: an open invitation for any willing soldier to write their phone number and look the other way, presumably in exchange for a payout. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis literally never happens,\u201d insists Brigadier General Porfirio Fuentes V\u00e9lez. \u201cI see the government\u2019s commitment in addressing (the issue of drugs). We know it\u2019s a very serious problem because there\u2019s a market that demands a lot of synthetic drugs. But criminals are increasingly producing less\u2026 because the strategy of the current Mexican president is to strengthen the coordination of all agencies at the federal, state, and municipal levels.\u201d <\/p>\n
But off the record, almost everyone we speak to acknowledges that corruption is widespread. In fact, the security chief who oversaw a previous crackdown was later convicted in US federal court for taking millions of dollars from the Sinaloa cartel. <\/p>\n
Rosalinda Cabanillas lets out a guttural wail that echoes across the entire cemetery. The sound of pain that no mother should have to go through. She clings to the white casket carrying her 26-year-old daughter, Vivian Karely Aispuro, whose body was found 17 agonizing days after she disappeared. <\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for the great adventure. Thank you for everything,\u201d sobs 27-year-old Alma Aispuro, as her younger sister\u2019s body is lowered into the ground. A bright, five-piece mariachi band blast out their tunes in a constant loop. <\/p>\n
Over the last seven months, violence has surged across Sinaloa, particularly in Culiac\u00e1n. The city has become awash with blood, as rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel fight a deadly war of vengeance. Two powerful leaders of the Sinaloa cartel were arrested in Texas last July: Ismael Zambada Garcia (known as \u201cEl Mayo\u201d, he\u2019s a co-founder of the group) and Joaqu\u00edn Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez, son of El Chapo. Both stand accused of leading fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks. But Zambada was caught after an alleged betrayal by Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez, officials say, driving their followers into opposing groups. (In the US, Zambada has pleaded not guilty on a 17-count indictment accusing him of narcotics trafficking and murder. G\u00fazman L\u00f3pez has pleaded not guilty to narcotics, money laundering and firearms charges.) <\/p>\n
Since then, Culiac\u00e1n has become paralyzed by regular shootouts between the two factions, as well as the military. More than 1,200 men, women, and children have been killed in the past year, more than double the toll of the previous 12 months, according to the State Council of Public Safety (a citizens\u2019 organization). Hundreds more have gone missing. <\/p>\n
Though the military\u2019s presence has helped calm the situation somewhat, it\u2019s far from under control, and fear runs deep among many residents. Attendance at local schools is down, and children are taught how to take cover in case they find themselves trapped between gunfire. As night falls, the usually vibrant city is eerily quiet \u2014 apart from the occasional sound of gunfire. A self-imposed curfew still mostly stands, with bars and restaurants closing early. Volunteer paramedics whizz round on motorbikes, responding to a stream of medical emergencies resulting from violent incidents. <\/p>\n
Alma says that her sister Vivian was not involved with the cartels, and we found no evidence to suggest otherwise. \u201cBut the violence raging here in Culiac\u00e1n led to this happening. Because before the war we\u2019re experiencing now, there were codes \u2014 and women and children were respected. After the war, those codes no longer exist,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
Anyone with even the slightest involvement with members of the cartel could be at risk. And even those who keep their distance, we were told by residents living through this, can find themselves taken hostage or murdered. <\/p>\n
Miguel Calder\u00f3n, who lives in Culiac\u00e1n and works for the State Council on Public Security, believes that things could be even worse. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat pressure (from the Trump administration) has translated into tangible results here, into better coordination that translates into all these issues of inhibiting criminal activity, especially its firepower\u2026 If it weren\u2019t for federal forces and all this military support from the national government, the problem would be two or three times worse.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ultimately, though, he believes it\u2019s difficult to maintain this pressure when so many young men are being recruited into the cartel every day, with promises of paychecks far bigger than they\u2019d receive otherwise. He says that something needs to be done to seriously curb the US demand for the drugs produced here. Without that, the Sinaloa cartel are likely to remain a prominent, wealthy force \u2014 and more families will feel anguish like that of Vivian Aispuro\u2019s family. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter my sister, that same day we found her dead, five women disappeared, including girls and others the same age as my sister. And we\u2019re afraid, honestly, I\u2019m afraid. I\u2019m afraid for my family. I\u2019m afraid to be a woman in Mexico, and I\u2019m afraid that no one will help us, no one will listen to us, and that no one cares about us,\u201d says Alma, as she watches the gravediggers shovel dirt over her sister\u2019s grave. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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