Which Mexican drug cartels are the most powerful?

There is no single cartel that dominates drug trafficking in Mexico. Various criminal groups are disputing territories, trafficking routes and economic power in different regions of the country, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). This Sunday, Mexican authorities confirmed the death of their leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," in a blow that has generated a wave of violence in the country.

In the midst of the situation, Karoline Leavitt, White House spokeswoman, congratulated the Mexican Army for the operation in which "El Mencho" was killed. In addition, she confirmed that the United States supported Mexican security forces.

"The United States provided intelligence support to the Mexican government in order to assist with an operation in Talpalpa, Jalisco, Mexico, in which Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, an infamous drug lord and leader within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was eliminated," Leavitt wrote on her X account.

The White House's stance reaffirms the tough-on-cartel policy promoted during the Donald Trump administration. Last year, the president designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. However, it is not the only criminal group in Washington's sights: the State Department has designated at least six Mexican criminal organizations as cartels with international reach.

The organizations considered most dangerous

Regarding the CJNG, the State Department noted that it is a transnational organization with a presence in almost all of Mexico. In addition to trafficking fentanyl, according to U.S. authorities, the group engages in extortion, migrant smuggling, oil and mineral theft, and the arms trade.

According to the report, the group has contacts throughout the Americas, as well as in Australia, China and Southeast Asia. "CJNG has carried out acts of intimidating violence, including attacks against Mexican military and police with military-grade weaponry, use of drones to launch explosives against Mexican law enforcement and assassinations or attempted assassinations of Mexican officials," the department detailed.

Another of the organizations designated by the State Department as a cartel with international reach is the Sinaloa Cartel. It is a transnational organization based in the state of Sinaloa, considered one of the most powerful criminal networks in the world and one of the main producers and traffickers of fentanyl and other illicit drugs destined for the United States.

According to international security reports, the cartel has been singled out for its systematic use of violence to murder, kidnap and intimidate civilians, public officials and journalists as part of its strategies to maintain control of its criminal operations.

For its part, the Northeast Cartel, formerly known as Los Zetas, is a transnational organization based in northeastern Mexico involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, human smuggling and other illicit activities. The department said the CDN resorts to violence to exert its criminal control, including attacks against public officials in Mexico.

The New Michoacan Family (LNFM) is a successor to the Michoacan Family, a violent transnational organization based in the Pacific Coast state of Michoacan, which operates in the Mexican states of Guerrero, Morelos and Mexico. In addition to drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion, the LNFM targets government officials and uses violence, including drone strikes and explosives, to exert its criminal control and terrorize communities.

The Gulf Cartel (CDG), according to the State Department, is a violent transnational organization based in northeastern Mexico involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, human smuggling and other illicit activities. CDG uses violence, including assassinations of civilians and government officials, to intimidate the population and control territory.

United Cartels (C.U.) is a violent transnational organization that was formed from an alliance of multiple cartels and other groups in Michoacan, Mexico, according to authorities. Since its formation, C.U. has engaged in violent activities that have caused numerous civilian, military and law enforcement casualties.