The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (D.E.A.) has released its 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, and it paints a grim picture of the Mexican cartel threat. You can see the document yourself here.
Mexican drug cartels are referred to as Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs).
Here’s what the threat assessment says about these TCOs:
“Mexican TCOs are among the world’s leading producers of illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin; they also control the wholesale trafficking of these drugs, and others such as cocaine, into the United States. These TCOs form business relationships with U.S. drug trafficking organizations and violent criminal organizations for the distribution and retail sale of drugs, which drives addiction, overdose deaths, and violence in communities nationwide. Beyond fueling the drug overdose crisis in the United States, TCOs engage in extreme violence, including murder and intimidation, and hostile takeovers of territory and trafficking routes in Mexico and throughout Latin America. Six powerful Mexican TCOs were designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Department of State: the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, the New Michoacán Family, and the United Cartels.”
The document then proceeds to provide information about individual TCOs. The biggest two are the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG.
THE SINALOA CARTEL
Here’s how the document describes the Sinaloa Cartel: “The Sinaloa Cartel (Cártel de Sinaloa, aka CDS) is one of the world’s most powerful drug cartels and one of the largest producers and traffickers of fentanyl and other illicit drugs to the United States… For decades, CDS has smuggled multi-kilogram quantities of illicit fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana into the United States and around the globe.”
According to the D.E.A., the Sinaloa Cartel operates in at least 40 countries in the world.
Here is a map of the cartel’s dominant areas of operation in Mexico:
Regarding fentanyl: “CDS controls and operates extensive, multi-faceted, transnational networks to facilitate the procurement and shipment of precursor chemicals from China and India to synthesize deadly synthetic drugs, including fentanyl, in Mexico-based clandestine laboratories.”
Regarding methamphetamine: “CDS produces multi-ton quantities of exceptionally high-purity and -potency methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories. According to DEA’s Special Testing and Research Laboratory,
methamphetamine seized and tested has reached the highest purity and potency ever recorded, with average purity levels reaching nearly 97 percent in 2025. The ample supply, low cost, and high potency has enabled the cartel to expand beyond traditional methamphetamine markets in the western United States into new markets in the eastern United States and setting the stage for more methamphetamine overdose deaths. Globally, CDS leverages the trafficking and supply of methamphetamine and cocaine to flood lucrative drug markets in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, where profits for methamphetamine can be more than 100 times higher than in the United States.”
Regarding Other Drugs: “CDS has long-standing ties with cocaine producers in South America and has cultivated opium poppy for the production of heroin for generations. The cartel has also become involved in the manufacturing and trafficking of “tusi,” a pink-colored drug cocktail consumed mainly in the
club scenes of major metropolitan cities in North and South America.”
Other Activities: “As one of the world’s most powerful cartels, CDS engages in a wide range of violent criminal activities to protect their drug operations, spread their illicit influence, and increase revenue. CDS uses actual or threatened violence (e.g., murder, torture, kidnapping) to intimidate civilians, government officials, and journalists. Additionally, CDS engages in many other crimes, including money laundering, extortion, theft of petroleum and natural resources, weapons trafficking, human smuggling, prostitution, and illegal wildlife trade. The illicit proceeds of these peripheral crimes provide resources that make CDS more resilient and increase their ability to expand.”
The Sinaloa Cartel is currently undergoing an intra-cartel war, pitting one faction led by the son of “El Mayo” Zambada versus the faction of the Chapitos, sons of “El Chapo” Guzman. If one faction can’t defeat the other, it may lead to a permanent breakup of the organization and a realignment with other cartels.
CJNG
Here’s how the document describes the CJNG: “The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, aka CJNG) is one of Mexico’s most powerful, influential, and ruthless transnational criminal organizations and a key supplier of illicit fentanyl to the United States … CJNG has expanded its operations beyond Mexico’s borders, establishing a presence in
over 40 countries [like the Sinaloa Cartel]. The [CJNG) cartel uses its vast financial resources, unique franchise-based command structure, proclivity for violence, and access to corrupt officials to maintain and expand its influence over Mexico’s illicit drug trade. According to Mexican news sources,
CJNG could capitalize on the conflict between the Los Mayos and
Los Chapitos factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, essentially by choosing sides in favor of their former rivals, Los Chapitos, against Los Mayos.
A strategic alliance between CJNG and Los Chapitos has the potential to expand these groups’ territories, resources, firepower, and access to corrupt
officials, which could result in a significant disruption to the existing balance
of criminal power in Mexico and could serve to increase northbound drug
flow and southbound weapons trafficking at the U.S.-Mexico border.”
Here is a map of the CJNG’s dominant areas of operation in Mexico:
More from the threat assessment: “CJNG is heavily involved in the manufacturing, trafficking, and distribution of illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. While other cartels approach money laundering in differing ways, CJNG’s financial arm, Los Cuinis, features prominently in the leadership structure of the cartel. Los Cuinis leads the cartel’s diverse network of money laundering operations and tactics to repatriate global illicit drug proceeds back to Mexico. This group and other CJNG factions use CMLNs, cryptocurrency exchanges, bulk cash smuggling, trade-based money laundering, and other methods for laundering illicit drug-related proceeds.”
And, “CJNG is likely increasing its involvement in non-drug activities, to include gasoline theft, extortion schemes, infiltrating legitimate industries, taxing human smuggling, and perpetrating real estate schemes—including timeshare fraud—for money laundering purposes. CJNG members increasingly participate in these activities to diversify revenue streams and protect drug trafficking assets from law enforcement seizure.”
OTHER CARTELS IN THE DOCUMENT
Here is a map of the dominant areas of operation of the Northeast Cartel:
The old Gulf Cartel is no longer a unified cartel. It has broken up into factions. The biggest of these factions are Los Metros and Los Escorpiones, who are fighting each other.
The Michoacán Family (LFM).
CONCLUSION
The power and reach of the Mexican drug cartels is a threat to Mexico, the U.S. and the whole hemisphere. For more information, check out the threat assessment by clicking here.
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