Reports that the Jalisco Cartel New Generation is aiding the
Chapitos faction of Sinaloa Cartel in parts of Mexico have been growing.
InSight Crime’s Managing Editor Deborah Bonello and Senior Investigator
Parker Asmann discuss the criminal alliance, its structure, and how it
contradicts some of the mainstream narratives around organized crime in
the region.
Transcript
Deborah: [00:00:02] Welcome back to InSight Crime. I’m the Managing Editor, Deborah Bonello, and I’m joined by Parker Asmann, one of our senior investigators for Mexico. Parker, how’s it going?
Parker: [00:00:13] I’m doing well. Deb, how are you? Thank you for having me.
Deborah: [00:00:15] I’m good. Thanks for helping us unpack this. We have for a while been hearing some rumors about a relationship between the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel New Generation here in Mexico. Can you talk to us a little bit about what we’re hearing and when it started?
Parker: [00:00:37] Yeah. So we first started hearing chatter about a possible alliance between the Chapitos and the Jalisco Cartel towards the end of last year. And this largely stemmed from a video that surfaced on social media of an armed group announcing themselves as the Fuerzas Especiales Union. And at the end of this video, they express their loyalty to El Mencho, who is the infamous leader of the Jalisco Cartel, one of the most wanted men in Mexico’s organized crime landscape. But they also pledged their allegiance to Ivan, which is in reference to Ivan Archivaldo, one of El Chapo’s sons and one of the last Chapitos leaders still on the run.
Deborah: [00:01:20] Yeah, and known to be kind of the leading force behind the Chapitos as we know it, right, in Sinaloa. So how was the alliance structured at first? What do we know about the kind of relationship that those two organizations developed or have developed?
Parker: [00:01:38] Right. So it seems to be a regional alliance at the moment, as opposed to something that’s more far-reaching and stretching across the whole of Mexico. The evidence that we have so far suggests that there is a top commander known as Jardinero, who is believed to be the right-hand man of the CJNG’s top leader, El Mencho. So, we’re not just talking about some average low-level commander. This is somebody with influence and sway within the organization. And he allegedly agreed to help protect the remaining leadership structure of the Chapitos, which deals with Iván and Jesús Alfredo, the two Chapitos brothers that are still on the run. And he also agreed, allegedly, to provide military support to the rank and file among the Chapitos in Sinaloa to sort of push back against the Mayiza and the allied factions that are attacking the Chapitos. So it seems like, at the moment, the main objective here is to protect what remains of the Chapitos leadership and push back against the Mayiza, primarily in Sinaloa.
Deborah: [00:02:42] And how has the alliance evolved and expanded since we started hearing about it?
Parker: [00:02:48] Yeah, so as I mentioned, originally, everything sort of seemed to be focused on Sinaloa, which is the home base of the Sinaloa Cartel and where a lot of the fighting has been concentrated over the last year. But recently we’ve also seen evidence that this alliance has extended to the US-Mexico border, specifically to the state of Baja California and a municipality known as Mexicali. This is an extremely important corridor for both drug and arms trafficking. In addition to factions like the Chapitos and the Mayiza, you’ve also had Jalisco Cartel factions that have contested control of this key corridor for several years now. But at the moment, it seems like the alliance in this specific region is focused on attacking a group known as the Rusos, which has long been one of the most prominent armed wings of the Mayiza and generally speaking, one of the most dominant armed actors in this corridor.
Deborah: [00:03:45] You know, it’s interesting because when we think about these criminal organizations and we listen to the pushback that comes from mainly the US government, but the Mexican government too, against the Jalisco Cartel New Generation and Sinaloa, it would have us believe that these are these massive corporations that are vertically led and also that they are archrivals, right? So they are kind of against each other. These are very clan-based organizations that tend to have a focus on loyalty. But then when you see these kinds of relationships forming, it does bring into question a lot of what the sort of mainstream narrative says about these criminal groups, right?
Parker: [00:04:34] Right. I think US authorities oftentimes want to construct this very simple narrative, this black and white environment that is easy to understand. But I think when we look at this alliance between the Chapitos and the Jalisco Cartel, it tells us a much different story. I mean, these are very pragmatic, business-oriented organizations that operate almost as franchises. They want us to think about these groups as these massive hegemonic structures, as you mentioned, that are vertically integrated. But I think the reality on the ground is much more complex and much more fluid.
Deborah: [00:05:10] Right. And I think a lot of our reporting does really try and add context and nuance to the way that organized crime is perceived. Our unpacking of the synthetic drug structure, the sourcing of precursors from China and other countries, and its importation to Mexico. And then the creation and the manufacture of fentanyl and methamphetamine. We found that the supply chain is infinitely more complicated than the US government’s perception, or communication of that, would have us believe. We’re looking at so many actors in the chain, so many different legal and illegal brokers involved in that supply chain. So this alliance and that nuance and complexity definitely speaks to a lot of what our investigations have encountered.
Parker: [00:06:16] Right. And I think it comes at such a crucial moment when these groups are being labeled as terrorist organizations. And I think it’s important to really understand how exactly they truly operate. And I think this alliance is a perfect case where the reality is very different than what is portrayed to us sometimes.
Deborah: [00:06:36] Yeah. Well, it’s for sure one to watch, Parker. And thanks very much for helping us unpack that. For those of you watching or listening, you can find detailed profiles of all of the criminal groups that we’ve mentioned today, as well as the ongoing shifting criminal dynamics, not only in Mexico but across the region. And Parker, thanks so much for joining us.
Parker: [00:06:59] Thanks a lot, Deb. It was a pleasure.