International
What are the six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist groups by the United States?
The US Government officially designated six Mexican drug trafficking cartels as terrorist groups on Thursday, an order that complies with a decree signed by US President Donald Trump during his first day in office, on January 20.
Through a document from the Federal Registry of the United States it was announced that the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS), the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Northwest Cartel (CDN), the Gulf Cartel (CDG), La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) and Carteles Unidos (CU) are the drug trafficking organizations identified as terrorists.
In Mexico, for decades, these drug cartels have generated violence and have networks that expand to the United States, Central America, South America and Europe, in addition to criminal cells dedicated to other crimes such as human trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.
Also known as the Pacific Cartel and founded in 1989, it is one of the oldest in Mexico, it is based in the state of Sinaloa (northwest) and is considered the largest and the one with the greatest presence in the United States.
It was led by capo Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán, who was considered the most powerful drug trafficker in the world and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States. After Guzmán’s capture in 2016, Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada remained at the head of the organization until his arrest in US territory in 2024.
Currently, the organization lives a confrontation, since September 2024, between the criminal cells of Los Chapitos and Los Mayos, after the delivery in the United States of co-founder Zambada, which has caused more than 800 homicides in Sinaloa.
Former armed arm of the Sinaloa Cartel to fight the Zetas, it became independent of the parent organization and began operating in 2011 under the leadership of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes “el Mencho”, one of the most wanted criminals in Mexico and the United States, with a reward of up to 15 million dollars for information about his whereabouts.
It is the fastest growing poster and one of the most violent in Mexico. Based in the city of Guadalajara, it operates practically throughout the country.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the CJNG distributes cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl throughout the United States.
Active since the 1980s, he had great influence in the north and east of the country, but weakened by splits and currently focuses on the state of Tamaulipas and, according to reports, has a presence in the state of Quintana Roo, in the Mexican Caribbean.
Based in Tamaulipas, a state bordering the United States, the CDG dominated the decade of the 1990s, under the command of its former leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, who served a sentence in the United States and was extradited to Mexico to serve prison sentences for various crimes.
The Zetas were the military arm of the Gulf Cartel but split from the organization, with which they had a bloody war in 2010 for control of northeastern Mexico and achieved the dominance of drug trafficking in much of the country. In 2016, the Zetas fractured and gave rise to the Northeast Cartel.
This drug trafficking gang is based in the city of Nuevo Laredo (Tamaulipas) and its influence covers the states of Nuevo León, Coahuila and San Luis Potosí.
It is a violent organization based in Michoacán, on the Mexican Pacific coast, operating in the states of Guerrero, Morelos and the State of Mexico. Its precedent, the Michoacana Family was the group that expelled the Zetas from Michoacán, during the first decade of the 21st century.
The organization was precisely one of the objectives of President Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) in his declared ‘War on Drug Traffic Coding’ that boosted violence in Mexico.
The organization was weakened by the death of its leader, Nazario Moreno González “el Chayo” in 2014, and by the internal split of the Knights Templar, who have also been diminished by the arrest or death of their leaders.
According to the US State Department, this cartel is a violent organization that was formed from an alliance of several cartels and other criminal groups in the state of Michoacán.
The criminal organization involves the Tepalcatepec Cartel, the Abuelo Cartel and the Los Reyes Cartel. According to investigations, the Tepalcatepec Cartel has Juan José ‘El Abuelo’ Farías as leader; and the Los Reyes Cartel has Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez, alias ‘Wicho de Los Reyes’, with influence in the Tierra Caliente region (southwest).
Its main objective is to prevent the arrival of the CJNG to the Michoacán region.
International
Former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney dies at 84
Dick Cheney, former U.S. vice president under George W. Bush and a chief architect of the 2000s “war on terror,” died Monday night at age 84.
According to a family statement, Cheney passed away due to complications from pneumonia and cardiovascular disease.
Cheney, who rose to political prominence as White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford in the 1970s, went on to become one of the most influential vice presidents in U.S. history during the Bush administration (2001–2009). He was widely known as one of the strongest advocates for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In his later years, however, Cheney emerged as a vocal critic of the Republican Party under Donald Trump’s leadership.
“Dick Cheney was a great man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country and to live with courage, honor, love, kindness, and a passion for fishing,” his family said in a statement.
International
Sheinbaum maintains 70% approval despite growing discontent in Mexico
Seven out of ten Mexicans — 70% — approve of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s performance a little over a year into her term, even as disapproval reached its highest level in October at 30%, according to a monthly survey published by the newspaper El Financiero.
The approval rating marks a slight decline compared to September (73%), August (74%), and especially February, when Sheinbaum peaked at 85%. Meanwhile, disapproval rose to 30%, three points higher than in August and double the levels recorded between January and March, when just 15% of respondents disapproved of her leadership.
Of the 1,000 Mexicans surveyed, 59% rated the government’s response to last month’s deadly storms — which left 83 people dead and 16 missing — as good or very good. Additionally, 56% gave positive marks to cleanup and recovery efforts, while 40% viewed them negatively.
Support programs for affected families received 53% positive and 42% negative evaluations. Sheinbaum’s visits to impacted areas generated a narrower split: 50% approval versus 45% disapproval.
The president’s empathy stood out as her most valued attribute, earning 63% favorable ratings, followed by honesty (59%), leadership (59%), and ability to deliver results (47%).
International
Shootout in Sinaloa leaves 13 gunmen dead as authorities rescue kidnapping victims
A confrontation between Mexican security forces and an armed group in the troubled state of Sinaloa left 13 gunmen dead and four others arrested, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported on Monday.
Sinaloa, located on the Pacific coast, has been shaken for more than a year by a violent power struggle between factions of a powerful local cartel — a conflict that has resulted in at least 1,700 homicides, including 57 minors, and nearly 2,000 disappearances.
The shootout occurred around 12:45 p.m. local time (18:45 GMT) in the municipality of Guasave, where authorities were able to rescue nine kidnapped individuals following the clash. Officers also seized seven vehicles, long weapons, and tactical equipment, according to the minister’s post on X.
García Harfuch explained that security forces “were attacked by an armed group hiding under a bridge” while patrolling the La Brecha community of Guasave, prompting an “immediate response” from authorities.
The detainees and seized items have been turned over to Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office, he added.
The internal war within the Sinaloa Cartel erupted after the capture of longtime leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who was betrayed and extradited to the United States in July 2024 by the son of his former partner Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Guzmán has been serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison since 2019.
Former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney dies at 84
Sheinbaum maintains 70% approval despite growing discontent in Mexico
Shootout in Sinaloa leaves 13 gunmen dead as authorities rescue kidnapping victims
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