In the Man in the High Brick there's numerous cartels. These are criminal organizations, involved with racketeering, drug trafficking and various other crimes.
''For a list of Cartels and similar organizations, see [[List of Cartels]].''
== Brief History ==
== Brief History ==
One of the first being the [[Gulf Cartel]]. It was formed in the 1930s. Soon after, around 10 years later, during [[World War Two]], a successful businessman, [[Giovanni Maldeira]], forms a criminal syndicate, known as the [[Maldeira Cartel]]. It is the largest criminal organization known to mankind. The Maldeira-controlled criminal syndicate turns into a cartel. It controls all of middle America and south America. Once the United States of America capitulated to the Germanic Reich and Japanese Empire, a neutral zone was established between the Germanic and Japanese annexed parts of America. The Maldeira Cartel attempted to influence the neutral zone as well. However, soon after Giovanni Maldeira started aligning with Italian Mafia groups, such as the [[Black Hand]], with important families such as the [[Sabini Family]], but most primarily the [[Changretta Family]]. This angered many dons in the Maldeira cartel. The first to break ties were [[Joaquin Guzman]], [[Ismael Zambada]], [[Ernesto Fonseca]] and [[Melchor Barrios]]. They formed the [[Sinaloa Cartel]], unsurprisingly, being formed in the Mexican state Sinaloa. Soon after, a domino-effect commenced, with the [[Potosino Cartel]] claiming independence, led by [[Bonifacio Almagro]]. The Maldeira Cartel collapsed and the following cartels were formed soon after: The [[Eladio Cartel]], [[Tijuana Cartel]], [[Milenio Cartel]], [[Guerrero Cartel]], [[Medellin Cartel]], [[Cali Cartel]], [[Cartel de la Sierra]], and [[Cartel de los Soles]]. A notable mention is the Milenio Cartel, which was a short-lived cartel that collapsed into smaller factions, of which the 2 major ones are [[La Resistencia]] and the [[Jalisco Cartel]]. Any other regions Maldeira controlled but didn't go to another criminal organization were liberated of the organized crime.
In the Man in the High Brick there's numerous cartels. These are criminal organizations, primarily involved with drug trafficking, though also racketeering and committing various other crimes. Cartels are primarily present in Middle America and South America.
== Gulf Cartel ==
== Gulf Cartel ==
===== General Information =====
[[File:No Image Available.png|250px|thumb|right|[[Juan Nepomuceno]], the founder of the [[Gulf Cartel]]]]
The [[Gulf Cartel]] was the first drug cartel to be formed, being formed even before the much larger Maldeira Cartel was founded. It was located Tamaulipas, Mexico. The cartel was formed by [[Juan Guerra]].
The first cartel to be formed was the [[Gulf Cartel]], formed by [[Juan Nepomuceno]]. It was established in Matamoros, a large city in the Mexican State Tamaulipas. It smuggled alcohol in large quantities to the United States during the Prohibition era. Once the United States capitulated to [[Germania]] and the [[Empire of Japan]], the Gulf Cartel only bordered the Germanic Zone of America.
===== Military Wing =====
Juan was reportedly loved by the local communities and preferred to work alone. The close family of Juan Nepomuceno also was part of the leadership of the Gulf Cartel. The Gulf Cartel was the first criminal organization to be considered a cartel, though it was often also considered the Matamoros Plaza.
The Gulf Cartel had ex-military soldiers employed as sicarios. This group of soldiers became a military wing of the Gulf Cartel, named Los Zetas.
===== Diplomacy =====
=== Diplomacy ===
Los Zetas eventually split up from the Gulf Cartel as it's leaders thought they didn't need the Gulf Cartel. This inevitably caused Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel to go to war, causing high amounts of atrocities between members of both cartels. Eventually, some sicarios belonging to the Sinaloa Cartel betrayed their cartel and instead joined Los Zetas, causing the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels to temporarily work together to fight Los Zetas. However, not long into their alliance against Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel broke off ties, occasionally attacking each other.
Juan Nepomuceno attempted to keep the cartel neutral and low-profile to avoid publicity. There were several reports that the Gulf Cartel did negotiate and trade with other cartels. However, the amount of communication between the Gulf Cartel and other cartels was limited
== Maldeira Cartel ==
== Maldeira Cartel ==
Though the Gulf Cartel was the first organization to be considered a cartel, a few years later the [[Maldeira Cartel]] was formed. It's leader, [[Giovanni Maldeira]], sought to create a large criminal organization controlling all of North America and South America.
==== Establishment ====
[[File:Giovanni Maldeira.jpg|300px|thumb|right|[[Giovanni Maldeira]], founder of the [[Maldeira Cartel]]]]
The Maldeira Cartel was established after Giovanni Maldeira met up with several local drug lords in Mexico. These local drug lords were getting around 10% to 15% profit from the drugs they were trafficking. This relatively low profit was considered a normal percentage, due to there being need for a large amounts of traffickers and long distances.
Maldeira offered these drug traffickers around 30% of the profit if they worked for him. He would lessen the amount of separate traffickers and would organize routes with larger shipments. This allowed Maldeira and the separate drug traffickers to earn more money.
This system allowed Maldeira to ensure the drug traffickers working for him were content, whilst still keeping them relatively poor. Maldeira's intentions to keep them poor were to ensure no uprisings emerge.
==== Growth ====
This new system put a large amount of other drug traffickers out of business. This forced them to work for Maldeira as well. Maldeira's influence in Mexico grew. His growth allowed him to expand to other countries as well.
Middle America swiftly succumbed to his influence. Colombia, a large producer and trafficker of cocaine, also became part of his sphere of influence. Peru and Bolivia followed soon after, as they also are large cocaine producers. Eventually, Maldeira spread his cartel's influence from all of Middle America to all of South America. However, his influence in Brazil, Southern Chile and Southern & Central Argentina remained minimal.
==== Black Hand ====
[[File:The Black Hand.png|300px|thumb|right|Emblem of the [[Black Hand]] organization]]
After a few setbacks Maldeira started aligning himself with the [[Black Hand]], a Mafia organization. Maldeira gave the Mafia members high ranks, often outranking the original drug traffickers. This caused severe unrest and dissatisfaction amongst the drug traffickers. However, the Italians and Maldeira suppressed the revolting drug traffickers by executing them.
Maldeira put Italian Mafia leaders in charge of the large amount of territory his cartel controlled. The [[Changretta Family]] and [[Sabini Family]] controlled Mexico. Colombia was controlled by [[Vito Changretta]] and [[Arnold Rothstein]]. However, there were assassination attempts on both leaders, which prompted them to flee the country. This put [[Benito Changretta]] in charge of Colombia, though he fled the region swiftly as well.
==== Collapse ====
The Maldeira Cartel started collapsing after the Mafia leaders started becoming targets for assassination. Primarily in Mexico and Colombia these leaders were the victim of numerous assassination attempts by lower ranking drug traffickers.
Additionally, the Maldeira Cartel erupted in an internal conflict. The Changretta and Sabini families attempted seizing control of the Cartel. Maldeira and his loyal followers, such as [[Augusto Romano]], attempted to stabilize the organization.
However, the chaos within the organization marked it's downfall. The Changretta and Sabini families had to flee to the Germanic Zone of America or to Europe, primarily Italy. The members that did not flee, were murdered. Primarily the [[Salamanca Family]] was responsible for the deaths of the Changrettas and Sabinis.
Supposedly, [[Luca Changretta]], [[Frederico Changretta]] and [[Claudio Sabini]] were murdered by the Salamancas. The other Changrettas and Sabinis reportedly fled the country or were murdered as well.
== Medellin Cartel ==
[[File:Medellin Cartel Flag.png|300px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Medellin Cartel]]]]
In Medellin, a city in Colombia, [[Pablo Escobar]], a local drug lord at the time, started defying the Maldeira Cartel's influence, which was collapsing swiftly. Pablo Escobar started drug trafficking larger amounts with his brother [[Roberto Escobar]] and his cousin [[Gustavo Gaviria]]. Soon after, the local group aligned with [[Jorge Ochoa]] and [[Juan Ochoa]]. Later on, they also aligned with their younger brother, [[Fabio Ochoa]]. [[Jose Gacha]], an illegal emerald trafficker who was widely regarded as treacherous towards his associates, also joined the Cartel. Lastly, [[Carlos Lehder]], a drug trafficker, joined the cartel as well. Pablo Escobar officially formed the Medellin Cartel. It was the first one establish itself independently from the Maldeira Cartel.
=== Establishment ===
The Medellin Cartel grew swiftly, gaining more members such as [[Diego Murillo]], also known as Don Berna. It rapidly became the largest cartel in Colombia, trafficking large amounts of cocaine. Following the establishment of the Medellin Cartel, Pablo Escobar became extremely well known in Colombia. He attempted to enter Colombia's politics, though this failed and backfired on his cartel.
The cartel was relatively stable for a while, though it lost several members. Carlos Lehder was arrested and extradited to the Germanic Zone of America. Jose Gacha betrayed the cartel and formed his own organization, [[Cartel de la Sierra]]. Following Gacha's betrayal, the Ochoa brothers eventually defied the cartel as well. They were not included in a surrender deal Pablo Escobar made with the government. The Ochoa brothers served 5 years in prison, which was a relatively small punishment regarding their actual crimes. The Ochoa brothers also gave up Gustavo Gaviria to the police. Gustavo was killed soon after. Pablo and Roberto Escobar continued to lead the cartel until Pablo's death.
== Cali Cartel ==
[[File:Cali Cartel Flag.png|300px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Cali Cartel]]]]
Swiftly after the establishment of the Medellin Cartel, the [[Cali Cartel]] was founded. It was founded by [[Gilberto Orejuela]] and his younger brother [[Miguel Orejuela]]. Their long-term friend [[Chepe Santacruz]] also co-founded the cartel. Gilberto was the head of the Cartel, whilst Miguel was in charge of the finances. Chepe was the main trafficker, often visiting cities like New York. He worked there under the alias Victor Crespo, overseeing routes and the cartel's drug trafficking. At some point, [[Pacho Herrera]] became the fourth leader after achieving many successes.
=== Establishment ===
The Cali Cartel was a secretive organization. It's leaders and members attempted to keep the Cali Cartel relatively unknown. DEA and [[SS]] forces checking Colombia for cartels and attempting to take them down did not know of the existence of the Cali Cartel for the first 2 to 3 years of it's existence. Additionally, the growing popularity of Pablo Escobar allowed the Cali Cartel to remain widely unnoticed.
== Guadalajara Cartel ==
[[File:Guadalajara Flag.png|300px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Guadalajara Cartel]]]]
During the collapse of the Maldeira Cartel, the [[Guadalajara Cartel]] was established. It was headed by [[Felix Gallardo]], [[Ernesto Fonseca]] and [[Rafa Quintero]], all three of which were formerly part of drug trafficking organization headed by [[Pedro Aviles]], the most prolific drug trafficker in Sinaloa at the time.
Felix Gallardo was regarded as the leader of the cartel, keeping relations between groups neutral. Ernesto Fonseca and Rafa Quintero were the co-leaders, though they weren't regarded as , instead, they were widely regarded as separate drug traffickers.
Felix Gallardo spearheaded an idea to unite the large criminal organizations in Mexico. He met up with leaders of several "plazas" (drug trafficking organizations). The plazas included the Tijuana, Nogales, Juarez, Potosino and Sinaloa.
===== Plazas & Territory =====
* [[File:Tijuana Cartel Flag.png|250px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Tijuana Cartel]]]] The Tijuana Plaza was headed by [[Alberto Falcon]]. Under Falcon, the [[Arellano Brothers|Arellano brothers]] led the Tijuana Plaza as well. [[Jesus Gutierrez]] was a separate drug trafficker until he joined the Tijuana Plaza. He had close relations to Falcon and thus was able to receive a high rank in the Tijuana Cartel, though not outranking Falcon or the Arellano brothers.
: Felix Gallardo approached Falcon, asking Falcon to allow the Arellano brothers to work for the Guadalajara Cartel as well. Alberto Falcon accepted under the condition the Guadalajara Cartel does not interfere with Falcon's cocaine business. Though Falcon and Gutierrez accepted the deal, neither were fond of the Guadalajara Cartel and preferred the Tijuana Plaza to remain independent.
* [[File:Nogales Cartel Flag.png|250px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Nogales Cartel]]]] The Nogales Plaza was led by [[Rene Verdugo]]. Verdugo had close relations to the Tijuana plaza leader Jesus Gutierrez. Due to the participation of the Tijuana Plaza in the Guadalajara Cartel, Verdugo allowed the Nogales Plaza to become part of the cartel as well.
: Initially, Verdugo was not keen on joining the cartel. Felix Gallardo scheduled a meeting with Verdugo, in which no deal was made. This kept the Nogales Plaza independent. However, after the Tijuana Plaza also joined the Cartel, Felix and Nogales met up again and the Nogales Plaza joined the cartel as well.
* [[File:Juarez Cartel Flag.png|250px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Juarez Cartel]]]] The Juarez Plaza was ruled by [[Pablo Acosta]]. [[Rafael Aguilar]] achieved the rank of second in command. [[Amado Carillo]], the nephew of Ernesto Fonseca (Don Neto), was put in charge of the plaza as well after Juarez joined the Guadalajara Cartel.
: Pablo Acosta had a long-time rivalry with [[Pedro Aviles]], a prolific drug trafficker in Sinaloa. In a meeting between Acosta and Felix Gallardo, Acosta agreed to work with the Guadalajara Cartel despite the rivalry. However, Aviles banned Acosta from the cartel. Following Acosta's ban, Aviles was killed by Don Neto, allowing Acosta back into the cartel.
* The Ojinaga Plaza was a short lived Plaza which was founded by [[Pablo Acosta]] after he left the Juarez Plaza. However, soon after the establishment of the Ojinaga Plaza, Pablo Acosta was killed in a gunfight.
* [[File:Potosino Cartel Flag.png|250px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Potosino Cartel]]]] The Potosino Plaza was led by [[Bonifacio Almagro]] and [[Fausto Zapata]]. Bonifacio Almagro was the cartel boss, whilst Fausto Zapata was the governor of San Luis Potosi. He worked closely alongside Bonifacio, giving him advantages due to his high ranking legitimate position.
* The Sinaloa Plaza was ruled by [[Güero Palma]]. Eventually, various other drug lords joined the plaza under Palma. In Sinaloa, several several separate drug lords were also present. Mazatlan, a city in Sinaloa, had [[Gabino Salcido]] and [[Ismael Zambada]]. However, the largest drug producer in Sinaloa for a long time was [[Pedro Aviles]].
===== Growth =====
[[File:No Image Available.png|350px|thumb|right|[[Felix Gallardo]], leader of the Guadalajara Cartel]]
The Guadalajara Cartel was formed when [[Rafa Quintero]], [[Ernesto Fonseca]] and primarily [[Felix Gallardo]] met up with several plaza leaders and convinced them to join the new larger cartel.
The Tijuana Plaza was led by [[Alberto Falcon]], who initially did not seek to join the Guadalajara Cartel. Only after Felix Gallardo made a deal with Falcon, did he allow the [[Arellano Brothers|Arellano brothers]] to work with Felix. In Sinaloa, Felix's boss, [[Pedro Aviles]], had a long lasting rivalry with the Juarez Plaza leader, [[Pablo Acosta]]. In a meeting, Aviles banned Acosta from the cartel. Following Acosta's ban from the cartel, Ernesto Fonseca murdered Pedro Aviles.
Initially, the Guadalajara Cartel was supported by [[DFS]], led by [[Nazar Haro]]. However, as the cartel started growing, the DFS started demanding more money. Nazar Haro was amongst the men who demanded more money, and was consequently murdered by Felix Gallardo. The new DFS general became [[Toribio Esparragoza]], also known as "El Azul".
The profits were still relatively low until the Guadalajara Cartel started altering it's plantations. Initially they were usually located in remote mountain areas where they were hard to spot and irrigation did not require drilling wells. Yields were relatively low, quality varied and transportation was expensive. The new plantations however were seeded with an improved variety of marijuana, originally developed by American cannabis cultivators. This new variety came to be referred to by Mexican cultivators as "sinsemilla" (meaning seedless) marking the first time growing marijuana without seeds was brought to a grand-scale. This more powerful, higher quality variety brought much higher prices in North American markets. This marked large growth of the Guadalajara Cartel.
The newer plantations were located in remote desert areas. Transportation was less expensive. However, these were relatively easy to locate and required well drilling for irrigation which was highly illegal. However, the Guadalajara Cartel was able to bribe most local police departments.
Throughout most of history, the Colombian Cartels, mainly the [[Medellin Cartel]] and [[Cali Cartel]], trafficked their narcotics (primarily cocaine) through the Caribbean. Organizations such as [[Cuban Gold Cigars]] were able to profit from the transportation, taking approximately a 30% cut of the profits to use their transportation methods, though it was still the responsibility of the Colombian Cartels.
[[File:No Image Available.png|300px|thumb|right|[[Braulio Castaneda]], a Honduran drug trafficker.]]
However, the Germanic Zone of America tightened it's rule on the Caribbean and made the drug trafficking through the Caribbean more expensive and dangerous. After the Colombian Cartels started looking for alternatives, a Honduran drug trafficker, [[Braulio Castaneda]] became the new trafficker. Castaneda became very important to the Guadalajara Cartel and after an invitation joined it to smuggle the new flow of drugs. Following this, he became the fourth highest ranking leader of the Guadalajara Cartel.
Colombian cartels started shipping cocaine to Honduras and then to Mexico. After the transportation to Mexico was complete, the Guadalajara Cartel was to transport it over the border into the Japanese, Neutral and Germanic zones of America. Initially, the cut was about 30% to 40% due to the Colombian Cartels taking responsibility if any drugs were lost. However, eventually the Colombian Cartels made it the Guadalajara Cartel's responsibility. The Colombian Cartels would demand 50% of the potential profits. If any narcotics were seized, this would not affect the profit of the Colombian Cartels, but instead the profits of the Guadalajara Cartel. This made the Guadalajara Cartel grow as it became richer and started improving it's narcotics transportation.
===== Collapse =====
[[File:No Image Available.png|250px|thumb|right|[[Enrique Camarena]], the DEA agent responsible for the capture of a large marijuana field.]]
The Guadalajara Cartel however suffered an immense blow once a large marijuana field with an annual production of $8 billion was located and seized by Mexican authorities. [[Enrique Camarena]], a DEA agent, was the main agent behind the capture of the field. This angered [[Rafa Quintero]], who alongside [[El Azul]] and others ordered the capture and torture of Camarena. After 30 hours of torture, Camarena was murdered. This caused Operation Leyenda to be formed, which was an operation by the DEA to take down the murderers of Camarena. In anger, Rafa murdered two more Americans in a restaurant.
Rafa Quintero was the main suspect, as the residence where Camarena was murdered belonged to Rafa. He fled Mexico by going to Costa Rica in a private jet. DEA agents and Mexican authorities were notified of Rafa's escape and ordered Costa Rican authorities to arrest Rafa Quintero and extradite him to Mexico. Rafa was quickly arrested and extradited back to Mexico, where he faced 40 years in prison.
Ernesto Fonseca was also rapidly arrested. Rafa's and his arrest put pressure on Felix Gallardo, who went into hiding. Eventually, most drug lords of the Cartel and Felix Gallardo met up in a house in Acapulco, where Felix redesignated the plazas.
* Tijuana would be led by the [[Arellano Brothers|Arellano brothers]] and [[Jesus Gutierrez]], though effectively the Arellano brothers were fully in charge.
* Juarez would absorb the effectively defunct Ojinaga Plaza and be led by the Carillo Fuentes family. The nephew of Ernesto Fonseca, [[Amado Carillo]], would lead the cartel alongside [[Rafael Aguilar]]. Rapidly after the formation of the Juarez Cartel, the brother of Amado, [[Vicente Carillo]], would also enter leadership of the Cartel.
* Sinaloa would be controlled briefly by [[Güero Palma]] and El Azul, though they were swiftly arrested or killed, which left [[Joaquin Guzman]] as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. Eventually, other members such as [[Ismael Zambada]], [[Coronel Villarreal]] and [[Arturo Beltran]] would join the leadership of the Cartel.
* The Sonora corridor would go to the Quintero Family. As long as Rafa Quintero remained in prison, his brother [[Miguel Quintero]] would lead the local gang. They were offered to join the Sinaloa Cartel. However, they refused after a fallout with Joaquin Guzman's sons. They remained on good terms however.
* The Nogales Plaza remained in the hands of [[Rene Verdugo]].
* The Potosino Plaza would remain in the hands of [[Bonifacio Almagro]].
* Finally, the [[Gulf Cartel]], an independent Mexican drug trafficking organization, remained undisturbed.
== Milenio Cartel ==
[[File:Milenio Cartel Flag.png|300px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Milenio Cartel]]]] The Milenio Cartel was a cartel that was established somewhere around the collapse of the Guadalajara Cartel. It was formed by the [[Valencia Family]]. Initially, it remained relatively small compared to other cartels, though it grew swiftly. Eventually, it's leaders would align with [[Coronel Villarreal]], a high ranking member of the [[Sinaloa Cartel]]. This made the Milenio Cartel a close ally to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Production of drugs was relatively smooth until [[Oscar Valencia]] was captured by the military. [[Juan Valencia]] became the new leader of the cartel. However, he was arrested soon after as well. Coronel Villarreal was also killed in a gunfight with the military, creating a power vacuum.
The power vacuum allowed separate factions to emerge. One of these groups was [[La Resistencia]], led by [[Ramiro Pozos]]. The other large faction that established itself was led by [[Nemesio Oseguera]]. Oseguera's faction would later become the [[Jalisco Cartel]]. The Jalisco Cartel and La Resistencia became rivals and formed alliances with other cartels to devastate the other cartel.
La Resistencia aligned itself with [[Los Zetas]], a former paramilitary organization for the [[Gulf Cartel]]. Los Zetas was a rival of the Sinaloa Cartel, which led to an alliance to form between the Jalisco Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel.
The remaining Milenio Cartel leaders joined several smaller gangs. Eventually, the Jalisco Cartel ceased it's alignment to the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels after unknown disputes.
== Sinaloa Cartel ==
[[File:Sinaloa Cartel Flag.png|450px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Sinaloa Cartel]]]]
Initially, the Sinaloa area was ruled by several separate drug traffickers such as [[Pedro Aviles]]. The Sinaloa Area transformed into a Sinaloa Plaza, a slightly organized group of drug traffickers. They joined the Guadalajara Cartel. It remained part of the Guadalajara Cartel until it's collapse, after which it turned into the Sinaloa Cartel. Unlike the initial Sinaloa Plaza, the Sinaloa Cartel was organized and larger.
Tthe Sinaloa Cartel was led by [[Güero Palma]], known as "El Güero", [[Toribio Esparragoza]], known as "El Azul" and [[Joaquin Guzman]], known as "El Chapo".
=== Sinaloa-Tijuana Conflict ===
The Sinaloa Plaza and the Tijuana Plaza had always rivalled immensely, though after the collapse of the Guadalajara Cartel relations seemed peaceful. However, at a wedding of [[Enedina Arellano]] and her husband, the Sinaloan [[Armando Lopez]], known as El Rayo, disturbed the wedding. [[Ramon Arellano]] brought El Rayo outside and murdered him. This angered the Sinaloans, primarily Joaquin Guzman.
Guzman and [[Arturo Beltran]], a lieutenant of the Sinaloa Cartel, met up with [[Jesus Gutierrez]], a leader of the Tijuana Cartel. He started disliking the Arellano brothers and wanted control of the cartel himself. Jesus Gutierrez informed them about [[Benjamin Arellano|Benjamin Arellano's]] upcoming birthday. In the meantime, the Sinaloans start collaborating with [[Ismael Zambada]] (known as "El Mayo") and [[Baltazar Vega]] (known as "El Balta") as well. Both are drug traffickers, trafficking their narcotics through the Tijuana Cartel. However, neither were members the Tijuana Cartel.
At Benjamin Arellano's birthday party, Joaquin Guzman, Arturo Beltran and various sicarios ambushed the place disguised as police units. A gunfight erupted, in which many people were wounded and some died. One of the Arellano brothers, [[Pancho Arellano]] was captured and murdered. The rest of the Arellanos managed to flee the scene. Following the shootout, Ismael Zambada advised Guzman to remain under the radar.
Guzman attempted to flee to Guatemala. At Guadalajara airport, Guzman alongside [[Alfredo Beltran]] entered a shootout with sicarios of the Tijuana Cartel. Several bystanders were killed in the crossfire. Guzman and Alfredo Beltran managed to escape. Guzman continued his escape to Guatemala. However, upon arriving local authorities reported him and Mexican special forces arrested him quickly. Soon after Guzman's arrest, Güero Palma was arrested as well. This left only El Azul in charge of the cartel.
The war between the Sinaloa and Tijuana Cartels had fully erupted. The Arellano family suspected Jesus Gutierrez of treason and murdered him. Gutierrez was close to the [[Rene Verdugo]], the leader of the [[Nogales Cartel]]. Due to Gutierrez's death, Verdugo ordered attacks on all Arellanos. The Tijuana Cartel was in a declining situation. They attempted to kill several of their drug traffickers working for them, such as El Mayo and El Balta. They also targeted other cartels, being the Nogales, [[Juarez Cartel|Juarez]], [[Gulf Cartel|Gulf]] and Sinaloa cartels. El Azul was also a target of the assassination attempts. El Azul was shot but not killed, though it left him unable to lead the cartel as he went into hiding.
==== Tijuana's Downfall ====
The Tijuana Cartel had just declared war on most Mexican cartels and was in a bad position relative to the other cartels. Additionally, their only cocaine supplier, the [[Cali Cartel]], had made a deal with the Colombian government to cease the cartel's operations in return for keeping all the legal assets they possessed. This meant their production of cocaine would cease and they would no longer supply Tijuana or any other cartel. No other suppliers were available, which made Tijuana weaker.
Following the assassination attempts on several associates of the Tijuana cartel, El Mayo joined the Sinaloa Cartel. He became a leader. El Mayo started working alongside Guzman, who by now had removed Guero Palma from leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel. At this point, solely Mayo and Guzman led the cartel.
===== Los Mexicles =====
[[File:Los Mexicles Flag.png|350px|thumb|right|The flag of the [[Los Mexicles]]]]
The Sinaloa Cartel started collaborating with [[Los Mexicles]], a paramilitary group based in Sinaloa, involved with drug trafficking to a certain extent. Los Mexicles sent heavily armored vehicles to Tijuana and commenced attacking Tijuana Cartel hideouts, safehouses and warehouses. Benjamin Arellano went into hiding, whilst Ramon Arellano was tasked with assassinating El Mayo. However, El Mayo had Ramon assassinated instead. Another Arellano brother, [[Javier Arellano]], was targeted by El Balta. Javier was brutally murdered. Following Javier's death, Balta, his son and his daughter-in-law (El Mayo's daughter) were murdered.
Benjamin Arellano, the only remaining Arellano and leader of the Tijuana Cartel, was arrested. A Tijuana Cartel lieutenant, [[Teodoro Simental]], waited for Benjamin's arrest or death to take control of the Cartel. He was close to Jesus Gutierrez, who was murdered by the Arellanos. To avenge Gutierrez, Teodoro aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel. Teodoro remained as the only remaining leader of the Tijuana Cartel. Because of his close ties to Gutierrez and the Sinaloa Cartel, he surrendered the Tijuana territories to the El Chapo and El Mayo. Local drug traffickers still working for the Tijuana Cartel continued their operations independently or joined the Sinaloa Cartel as well.
=== Dominance ===
The leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel were Joaquin Guzman and Ismael Zambada. However, several new members became leaders as well. The [[Beltran Brothers|Beltran brothers]] were part of the cartel. The highest ranking Beltrans were [[Arturo Beltran|Arturo]] and [[Alfredo Beltran|Alfredo]]. The Beltran family were a family of high ranking members and lieutenants that started dominating the Arizona border. Eventually, El Azul returned to the Sinaloa Cartel and became part of the leadership.
Another high ranking figure in the Sinaloa Cartel was [[Coronel Villarreal]], who joined the cartel around the time El Mayo joined the Sinaloa Cartel. At the time he was a low ranking lieutenant. However, over time he grew in the ranks and became responsible for the production of methamphetamine and the relations between the Sinaloa Cartel and the [[Milenio Cartel]]. The Milenio Cartel was a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel until it's collapse. [[Oscar Valencia]] was arrested and soon after [[Juan Valencia]] followed. The arrests of the two leaders caused a power vacuum to emerge. Following their arrests, Coronel Villarreal was also arrested. A interfactional conflict emerged. The conflict caused the Milenio Cartel to collapse.
=== Guzman's Arrests ===
Joaquin Guzman was arrested once in Guatemala but escaped swiftly through a laundry cart. After he escaped, he met up with El Mayo, Arturo Beltran and El Azul. They discussed assassinating [[Rodolfo Carrillo]], the leader of the [[Juarez Cartel]] at the time. The same week, Rodolfo was murdered whilst leaving a mall.
Eventually Alfredo Beltran was arrested by Mexican authorities. The Beltran brothers suspected Guzman of giving up Alfredo to the DEA and [[SS]] in return for continued operations. This was due to a number of reasons, but the two major reason were that [[Ivan Guzman]], El Chapo's son, was arrested and imprisoned. Chapo allegedly gave up Alfredo Beltran to authorities in return for Ivan Guzman's release. It is alleged El Chapo chose Alfredo due to him expressing concerns regarding Alfredo's lifestyle and high-profile actions.
Following Alfredo's arrest, the Beltran brothers formed the [[Guerrero Cartel]] and fought the Sinaloa Cartel violently. The Guerrero Cartel aligned with [[Los Zetas]], a former paramilitary group of the [[Gulf Cartel]]. Los Zetas rivalled both the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel, which caused an alliance to be formed between the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels. Though Sinaloa and Gulf worked together closely, their alliance deteriorated over time. The Guerrero Cartel and Los Zetas remain allied to this day.
Once Joaquin Guzman was arrested [[Damaso Lopez]] became the new leader of the Cartel. However, only a few months after he became the leader, he was arrested and extradited to the Germanic Zone of America. A power struggle emerged, with Ismael Zambada taking control of most of the cartel.
The initial founders of the Sinaloa Cartel included:
* [[Güero Palma]], nicknamed "El Güero"
* [[Joaquin Guzman]], nicknamed "El Chapo"
* [[Toribio Esparragoza]], nicknamed "El Azul"
* [[Talco Uzeta]], nicknamed "Cochiloco".
Eventually various other members joined the cartel as well:
* [[Ismael Zambada]], nicknamed "El Mayo"
* [[Armando Lopez]], nicknamed "El Rayo"
* [[Arturo Beltran]], nicknamed "El Mochomo"
* [[Gabino Salcido]], nicknamed "Gabo"
* [[Coronel Villarreal]], nicknamed "Nacho"
* [[Ovidio Guzman]], nicknamed "El Raton"
* [[Javier Torres]], nicknamed "El JT"
* [[Baltazar Vega]], nicknamed "El Balta"
===== General Information =====
[[File:Giovanni Maldeira.jpg|300px|thumb|right|[[Giovanni Maldeira]], the leader of the [[Maldeira Cartel]]]]
The [[Maldeira Cartel]] is the largest cartel to have ever existed. It is ruled by [[Giovanni Maldeira]], an Italian Mafia boss. Therefore, the Maldeira Cartel is also sometimes called a criminal syndicate. The territory belonging to the Maldeira Cartel is most of Middle and South America. According to Giovanni Maldeira, "My cartel owns every strip of land from the northern Mexico border all the way to the bottom of Argentina." It is the second oldest drug cartel in Mexico, after the [[Gulf Cartel]], which it rivalled with abundantly.
===== Military Wing =====
The Maldeira Cartel started aligning with the [[Black Hand]], a large Mafia group, consisting out of mafia families such as the [[Sabini Family]] and [[Changretta Family]]. He used this as his main army.
===== Diplomacy =====
The alignment with mafia groups upset various high ranking members of the Maldeira Cartel. This is ultimately widely seen as the downfall of the Maldeira Cartel. First the [[Sinaloa Cartel]] was formed. Following that, the [[Potosino Cartel]] was formed. The [[Eladio Cartel]] also declared independence. Maldeira decided to flee together with the Black Hand after Eladio's betrayal to him. This caused the entire Maldeira Cartel to collapse and various other cartels to be formed, the [[Tijuana Cartel]], [[Jalisco Cartel]], [[Guerrero Cartel]], [[Medellin Cartel]], [[Cali Cartel]], [[Cartel de la Sierra]] and [[Cartel de los Soles]]. Other smaller criminal organizations were also formed.
== The Sinaloa Cartel ==
===== General Information =====
[[File:Sinaloa Cartel Flag.png|400px|thumb|right|The Flag of the [[Sinaloa Cartel]]]]
The [[Sinaloa Cartel]] is the largest cartel after the [[Maldeira Cartel]]. It was the first cartel to revolt against the Maldeira Cartel, causing a domino-effect which quickly saw the establishment of various other cartels and the collapse of the Maldeira Cartel. The 4 founding members of the Sinaloa Cartel were [[Joaquin Guzman]] (also known as El Chapo), [[Ismael Zambada]] (also known as El Mayo), [[Ernesto Fonseca]] (also known as Don Neto) and [[Melchor Barrios]] (Don Melchor). The Sinaloa Cartel is allied to the [[Cartel de los Soles]], a cartel based in Venezuela.
===== Military Wing =====
The Sinaloa Cartel utilises a military group, [[Los Mexicles]]. It is led by Melchor Barrios, who is also one of the co-founders of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Sinaloa Cartel also utilised another military group, [[Los Salazares]]. It was most active in the northern Mexican States. However, eventually Los Salazares cut off from the Sinaloa Cartel, seizing most resources, weapons and territory in the north. Though this was a blow to the Sinaloa Cartel, they didn't retaliate heavily. Regardless of the small amount of retaliation, the two groups remain on bad terms.
===== Diplomacy =====
At some point, a group of Sinaloa Cartel sicarios betrayed the Cartel and joined [[Los Zetas]], a former military wing of the [[Gulf Cartel]]. Due to this, the Sinaloa Cartel sided with the Gulf Cartel to combat Los Zetas. However, soon after the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel broke off ties still occasionally fighting each other. The Sinaloa Cartel also had bad ties with the [[Potosino Cartel]], led by [[Bonifacio Almagro]]. This was due to a rivalry dating back to the time where both leaders of the Sinaloa and Potosino cartels were members of the Maldeira Cartel. This caused the Sinaloa Cartel and the Potosino Cartel to become arch enemies and attack each other often. Eventually, the Sinaloa Cartel appeared to start having internal struggles. It's greatest leader, Joaquin Guzman, who is the most well known leader of the cartel, was found to be collaborating with his other family members, few of which were members in their great rival cartel, the Potosino Cartel. This caused a coup where Ernesto Fonseca and Melchor Barrios seized control of the cartel. Ismael Zambada was unharmed. Joaquin Guzman was deposed as leader of the cartel. Following the demise of Joaquin Guzman's leadership, Melchor Barrios decided to take the coup a step further. Melchor Barrios ensured Ernesto Fonseca was no longer in control. Melchor Barrios forced Ernesto Fonseca to become the face of the cartel, which is a dangerous position. Melchor Barrios would be the actual leader of the cartel, with Ismael Zambada being second in command.
== The Potosino Cartel ==
The [[Potosino Cartel]] was formed shortly after the [[Sinaloa Cartel]] was established. Similarly to the Sinaloa Cartel, it was formed in a revolt against the [[Maldeira Cartel]]. Unlike the Sinaloa Cartel however, the Potosino Cartel only had 1 leader, being [[Bonifacio Almagro]]. When Bonifacio Almagro was still a member of the Maldeira Cartel, he had a rivalry with the current leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. This prompted a rivalry between the two cartels now as well. This rivalry caused a full on war between the Potosino and Sinaloa Cartels. The Potosino Cartel has a military wing, called [[Los Javelinas]]. The Potosino Cartel also has an alliance with the Colombian [[Cartel de la Sierra]].
== The Eladio Cartel ==
===== General Information =====
The [[Eladio Cartel]] is a cartel formed during the collapse of the [[Maldeira Cartel]]. Similarly to the Maldeira Cartel, the Eladio Cartel is renamed after it's leader, [[Eladio Vuente]]. Alongside Eladio Vuente, [[Juan Bolsa]] and [[Hector Salamanca]] are also leaders. The Cartel swiftly grows to numerous other members also joining.
===== Military Wing =====
The Eladio Cartel utilises the [[Hermandad del Desierto]] group for military purposes.
===== Diplomacy =====
The Eladio Cartel is not very diplomatically active. Only for a brief period of time did the Eladio Cartel actively fight, against the remaining forces belonging of the Maldeira Cartel.
== The Tijuana Cartel ==
===== General Information =====
The [[Tijuana Cartel]] is a cartel that broke off from the [[Maldeira Cartel]]. They were formed in Tijuana, Mexico. It is ruled by the [[Arellano Félix Family]].
===== Military Wing =====
The Tijuana Cartel has it's own soldiers, unlike certain cartels, which use other groups for military purposes. The Tijuana uniform is dark blue.
===== Diplomacy =====
The Tijuana Cartel isn't very diplomatically active, though occasionally combatting other cartels.
== The Milenio Cartel ==
===== General Information =====
The [[Milenio Cartel]] is a short-lived cartel founded in Michoacán, Mexico, after the fall of the [[Maldeira Cartel]]. It eventually expanded into Jalisco as well. It is headed by [[Valencia Family]]. This family consists out of the leader, [[Armando Valencia]] and it's two co-leaders, [[Oscar Valencia]] and [[Luis Valencia]]. Eventually, their leader, Armando, was arrested by the [[Schutzstaffel]], the main Germanic paramilitary force. He was later extradited back to Mexico, where he faces life imprisonment without parole. Oscar Valencia as well as Luis Valencia took control of the cartel after, immediately wanting to collaborate with the [[Sinaloa Cartel]].
===== Military Wing =====
The Milenio Cartel was not very active militarily speaking. They primarily bribed police units and government officials to stay out of trouble. However, they did have a small group of mercenaries to fight for them if necessary. Especially after their collaboration with the Sinaloa Cartel they did not need much of an army, as Sinaloa provided sicarios for them.
===== Diplomacy =====
After Armando Valencia's arrest, his family members, Oscar Valencia and Luis Valencia, commenced friendly relations with the Sinaloa Cartel. Due to this improvement in relations, they started collaborating with the Sinaloa Cartel Drug Lord, [[Ignacio Coronel]]. Due to the relations with the Sinaloa Cartel, the cartel was able to expand into the Mexican state Colima as well. Eventually, Oscar Valencia was brutally killed in a gun battle. It is unknown which group is responsible for the death of him, but it caused a power vacuum within the Milenio Cartel. This caused 2 major groups to form. These groups being [[La Resistencia]] and the [[Jalisco Cartel]].
== The Jalisco Cartel ==
===== General Information =====
The [[Jalisco Cartel]] is a large cartel founded in Jalisco, Mexico, led by [[Nemesio Oseguera]]. It was founded after the fall of the [[Milenio Cartel]]. Various groups splintered off from the Milenio Cartel after it fell. La Resistencia and the Jalisco Cartel are 2 major groups. They directly opposed each other. However, due to the Jalisco Cartel's efforts to inherit and seize most of the former Milenio Cartel smuggling networks, they rapidly diminished La Resistencia, becoming the largest cartel in the region formerly belonging to the Milenio Cartel.
===== Military Wing =====
The Jalisco Cartel does not employ any other organization for it's military purposes. Instead, the Jalisco Cartel utilises it's own soldiers, often dressed in black uniforms and taught to be extremely violent. Often, these soldiers wear skull masks to appear extra frightening. They are also heavily armed with AK-47s or similar weaponry. Only the officers, who are well equipped, wield smaller automatic weapons for ease.
===== Diplomacy =====
The Jalisco Cartel uses extreme violence, notably against opposing cartels or organizations, such as [[Los Zetas]], the [[Sinaloa Cartel]] and the [[Potosino Cartel]]. The Jalisco Cartel has bad ties with a large amount of criminal organizations, notably Los Zetas, which it is warring against. La Resistencia is also a notable criminal organization, which formed from the fall of the Milenio Cartel, similarly to the Jalisco Cartel itself. However, La Resistencia is quickly diminished to a small gang by the Jalisco Cartel due to it making rapid advances to become stronger. Due to this they remain as one of the largest active drug cartels.
== Los Salazares ==
===== General Information =====
[[Los Salazares]] is a cartel which formerly served as a military wing for the Sinaloa Cartel in northern Mexico, primarily Sonora, Chihuahua and Coahuila. The cartel is most active in the Juarez region. Los Salazares was formed by the dons of the Sinaloa Cartel to combat the Eladio Cartel.
===== Military Wing =====
Los Salazares itself is a former military wing of a cartel and therefore does not employ any other groups for it's military purposes. It's uniforms are white.
===== Diplomacy =====
In Ecuador, the most dominant criminal organization is a criminal syndicate known as the [[Choneros Cartel]]. It was formed in the city Chone. It's founders are [[Josue Veliz]], [[Luis Zambrano]] and [[Macias Villamar]]. The Choneros Cartel, similarly to the Gulf Cartel in Mexico, worked alongside the Maldeira Cartel. Once it collapsed, it grew swiftly.
Due to Los Salazares breaking off from the Sinaloa Cartel, the relations between the two groups are bad. However, because Los Salazares was the military wing for the Sinaloa Cartel in the northern Mexican states, the Sinaloa Cartel has relatively little presence in those states. Due to this, fighting between the two groups rarely occurs.
It's relations with other cartels are also bad. Primarily the Eladio Cartel, which it often engages in turf wars with due to both groups being most active in Juarez.
In Venezuela a secretive drug trafficking organization named [[Cartel de los Soles]] was formed. It utilizes the extremely corrupted government to operate. Some sources indicate the highest ranking figures such as presidents, vice presidents and various other titles have also been influenced by Cartel de los Soles. The rampant corruption allowed Cartel de los Soles to seize full control of Venezuela, making it difficult for the Maldeira Cartel to have influence in the region.
Latest revision as of 15:14, 22 April 2025
For a list of Cartels and similar organizations, see List of Cartels.
Brief History
In the Man in the High Brick there's numerous cartels. These are criminal organizations, primarily involved with drug trafficking, though also racketeering and committing various other crimes. Cartels are primarily present in Middle America and South America.
The first cartel to be formed was the Gulf Cartel, formed by Juan Nepomuceno. It was established in Matamoros, a large city in the Mexican State Tamaulipas. It smuggled alcohol in large quantities to the United States during the Prohibition era. Once the United States capitulated to Germania and the Empire of Japan, the Gulf Cartel only bordered the Germanic Zone of America.
Juan was reportedly loved by the local communities and preferred to work alone. The close family of Juan Nepomuceno also was part of the leadership of the Gulf Cartel. The Gulf Cartel was the first criminal organization to be considered a cartel, though it was often also considered the Matamoros Plaza.
Diplomacy
Juan Nepomuceno attempted to keep the cartel neutral and low-profile to avoid publicity. There were several reports that the Gulf Cartel did negotiate and trade with other cartels. However, the amount of communication between the Gulf Cartel and other cartels was limited
Maldeira Cartel
Though the Gulf Cartel was the first organization to be considered a cartel, a few years later the Maldeira Cartel was formed. It's leader, Giovanni Maldeira, sought to create a large criminal organization controlling all of North America and South America.
The Maldeira Cartel was established after Giovanni Maldeira met up with several local drug lords in Mexico. These local drug lords were getting around 10% to 15% profit from the drugs they were trafficking. This relatively low profit was considered a normal percentage, due to there being need for a large amounts of traffickers and long distances.
Maldeira offered these drug traffickers around 30% of the profit if they worked for him. He would lessen the amount of separate traffickers and would organize routes with larger shipments. This allowed Maldeira and the separate drug traffickers to earn more money.
This system allowed Maldeira to ensure the drug traffickers working for him were content, whilst still keeping them relatively poor. Maldeira's intentions to keep them poor were to ensure no uprisings emerge.
Growth
This new system put a large amount of other drug traffickers out of business. This forced them to work for Maldeira as well. Maldeira's influence in Mexico grew. His growth allowed him to expand to other countries as well.
Middle America swiftly succumbed to his influence. Colombia, a large producer and trafficker of cocaine, also became part of his sphere of influence. Peru and Bolivia followed soon after, as they also are large cocaine producers. Eventually, Maldeira spread his cartel's influence from all of Middle America to all of South America. However, his influence in Brazil, Southern Chile and Southern & Central Argentina remained minimal.
After a few setbacks Maldeira started aligning himself with the Black Hand, a Mafia organization. Maldeira gave the Mafia members high ranks, often outranking the original drug traffickers. This caused severe unrest and dissatisfaction amongst the drug traffickers. However, the Italians and Maldeira suppressed the revolting drug traffickers by executing them.
Maldeira put Italian Mafia leaders in charge of the large amount of territory his cartel controlled. The Changretta Family and Sabini Family controlled Mexico. Colombia was controlled by Vito Changretta and Arnold Rothstein. However, there were assassination attempts on both leaders, which prompted them to flee the country. This put Benito Changretta in charge of Colombia, though he fled the region swiftly as well.
Collapse
The Maldeira Cartel started collapsing after the Mafia leaders started becoming targets for assassination. Primarily in Mexico and Colombia these leaders were the victim of numerous assassination attempts by lower ranking drug traffickers.
Additionally, the Maldeira Cartel erupted in an internal conflict. The Changretta and Sabini families attempted seizing control of the Cartel. Maldeira and his loyal followers, such as Augusto Romano, attempted to stabilize the organization.
However, the chaos within the organization marked it's downfall. The Changretta and Sabini families had to flee to the Germanic Zone of America or to Europe, primarily Italy. The members that did not flee, were murdered. Primarily the Salamanca Family was responsible for the deaths of the Changrettas and Sabinis.
In Medellin, a city in Colombia, Pablo Escobar, a local drug lord at the time, started defying the Maldeira Cartel's influence, which was collapsing swiftly. Pablo Escobar started drug trafficking larger amounts with his brother Roberto Escobar and his cousin Gustavo Gaviria. Soon after, the local group aligned with Jorge Ochoa and Juan Ochoa. Later on, they also aligned with their younger brother, Fabio Ochoa. Jose Gacha, an illegal emerald trafficker who was widely regarded as treacherous towards his associates, also joined the Cartel. Lastly, Carlos Lehder, a drug trafficker, joined the cartel as well. Pablo Escobar officially formed the Medellin Cartel. It was the first one establish itself independently from the Maldeira Cartel.
Establishment
The Medellin Cartel grew swiftly, gaining more members such as Diego Murillo, also known as Don Berna. It rapidly became the largest cartel in Colombia, trafficking large amounts of cocaine. Following the establishment of the Medellin Cartel, Pablo Escobar became extremely well known in Colombia. He attempted to enter Colombia's politics, though this failed and backfired on his cartel.
The cartel was relatively stable for a while, though it lost several members. Carlos Lehder was arrested and extradited to the Germanic Zone of America. Jose Gacha betrayed the cartel and formed his own organization, Cartel de la Sierra. Following Gacha's betrayal, the Ochoa brothers eventually defied the cartel as well. They were not included in a surrender deal Pablo Escobar made with the government. The Ochoa brothers served 5 years in prison, which was a relatively small punishment regarding their actual crimes. The Ochoa brothers also gave up Gustavo Gaviria to the police. Gustavo was killed soon after. Pablo and Roberto Escobar continued to lead the cartel until Pablo's death.
Swiftly after the establishment of the Medellin Cartel, the Cali Cartel was founded. It was founded by Gilberto Orejuela and his younger brother Miguel Orejuela. Their long-term friend Chepe Santacruz also co-founded the cartel. Gilberto was the head of the Cartel, whilst Miguel was in charge of the finances. Chepe was the main trafficker, often visiting cities like New York. He worked there under the alias Victor Crespo, overseeing routes and the cartel's drug trafficking. At some point, Pacho Herrera became the fourth leader after achieving many successes.
Establishment
The Cali Cartel was a secretive organization. It's leaders and members attempted to keep the Cali Cartel relatively unknown. DEA and SS forces checking Colombia for cartels and attempting to take them down did not know of the existence of the Cali Cartel for the first 2 to 3 years of it's existence. Additionally, the growing popularity of Pablo Escobar allowed the Cali Cartel to remain widely unnoticed.
During the collapse of the Maldeira Cartel, the Guadalajara Cartel was established. It was headed by Felix Gallardo, Ernesto Fonseca and Rafa Quintero, all three of which were formerly part of drug trafficking organization headed by Pedro Aviles, the most prolific drug trafficker in Sinaloa at the time.
Felix Gallardo was regarded as the leader of the cartel, keeping relations between groups neutral. Ernesto Fonseca and Rafa Quintero were the co-leaders, though they weren't regarded as , instead, they were widely regarded as separate drug traffickers.
Felix Gallardo spearheaded an idea to unite the large criminal organizations in Mexico. He met up with leaders of several "plazas" (drug trafficking organizations). The plazas included the Tijuana, Nogales, Juarez, Potosino and Sinaloa.
Plazas & Territory
The flag of the Tijuana Cartel The Tijuana Plaza was headed by Alberto Falcon. Under Falcon, the Arellano brothers led the Tijuana Plaza as well. Jesus Gutierrez was a separate drug trafficker until he joined the Tijuana Plaza. He had close relations to Falcon and thus was able to receive a high rank in the Tijuana Cartel, though not outranking Falcon or the Arellano brothers.
Felix Gallardo approached Falcon, asking Falcon to allow the Arellano brothers to work for the Guadalajara Cartel as well. Alberto Falcon accepted under the condition the Guadalajara Cartel does not interfere with Falcon's cocaine business. Though Falcon and Gutierrez accepted the deal, neither were fond of the Guadalajara Cartel and preferred the Tijuana Plaza to remain independent.
The flag of the Nogales Cartel The Nogales Plaza was led by Rene Verdugo. Verdugo had close relations to the Tijuana plaza leader Jesus Gutierrez. Due to the participation of the Tijuana Plaza in the Guadalajara Cartel, Verdugo allowed the Nogales Plaza to become part of the cartel as well.
Initially, Verdugo was not keen on joining the cartel. Felix Gallardo scheduled a meeting with Verdugo, in which no deal was made. This kept the Nogales Plaza independent. However, after the Tijuana Plaza also joined the Cartel, Felix and Nogales met up again and the Nogales Plaza joined the cartel as well.
The flag of the Juarez Cartel The Juarez Plaza was ruled by Pablo Acosta. Rafael Aguilar achieved the rank of second in command. Amado Carillo, the nephew of Ernesto Fonseca (Don Neto), was put in charge of the plaza as well after Juarez joined the Guadalajara Cartel.
Pablo Acosta had a long-time rivalry with Pedro Aviles, a prolific drug trafficker in Sinaloa. In a meeting between Acosta and Felix Gallardo, Acosta agreed to work with the Guadalajara Cartel despite the rivalry. However, Aviles banned Acosta from the cartel. Following Acosta's ban, Aviles was killed by Don Neto, allowing Acosta back into the cartel.
The Ojinaga Plaza was a short lived Plaza which was founded by Pablo Acosta after he left the Juarez Plaza. However, soon after the establishment of the Ojinaga Plaza, Pablo Acosta was killed in a gunfight.
The flag of the Potosino Cartel The Potosino Plaza was led by Bonifacio Almagro and Fausto Zapata. Bonifacio Almagro was the cartel boss, whilst Fausto Zapata was the governor of San Luis Potosi. He worked closely alongside Bonifacio, giving him advantages due to his high ranking legitimate position.
The Sinaloa Plaza was ruled by Güero Palma. Eventually, various other drug lords joined the plaza under Palma. In Sinaloa, several several separate drug lords were also present. Mazatlan, a city in Sinaloa, had Gabino Salcido and Ismael Zambada. However, the largest drug producer in Sinaloa for a long time was Pedro Aviles.
The Guadalajara Cartel was formed when Rafa Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca and primarily Felix Gallardo met up with several plaza leaders and convinced them to join the new larger cartel.
The Tijuana Plaza was led by Alberto Falcon, who initially did not seek to join the Guadalajara Cartel. Only after Felix Gallardo made a deal with Falcon, did he allow the Arellano brothers to work with Felix. In Sinaloa, Felix's boss, Pedro Aviles, had a long lasting rivalry with the Juarez Plaza leader, Pablo Acosta. In a meeting, Aviles banned Acosta from the cartel. Following Acosta's ban from the cartel, Ernesto Fonseca murdered Pedro Aviles.
Initially, the Guadalajara Cartel was supported by DFS, led by Nazar Haro. However, as the cartel started growing, the DFS started demanding more money. Nazar Haro was amongst the men who demanded more money, and was consequently murdered by Felix Gallardo. The new DFS general became Toribio Esparragoza, also known as "El Azul".
The profits were still relatively low until the Guadalajara Cartel started altering it's plantations. Initially they were usually located in remote mountain areas where they were hard to spot and irrigation did not require drilling wells. Yields were relatively low, quality varied and transportation was expensive. The new plantations however were seeded with an improved variety of marijuana, originally developed by American cannabis cultivators. This new variety came to be referred to by Mexican cultivators as "sinsemilla" (meaning seedless) marking the first time growing marijuana without seeds was brought to a grand-scale. This more powerful, higher quality variety brought much higher prices in North American markets. This marked large growth of the Guadalajara Cartel.
The newer plantations were located in remote desert areas. Transportation was less expensive. However, these were relatively easy to locate and required well drilling for irrigation which was highly illegal. However, the Guadalajara Cartel was able to bribe most local police departments.
Throughout most of history, the Colombian Cartels, mainly the Medellin Cartel and Cali Cartel, trafficked their narcotics (primarily cocaine) through the Caribbean. Organizations such as Cuban Gold Cigars were able to profit from the transportation, taking approximately a 30% cut of the profits to use their transportation methods, though it was still the responsibility of the Colombian Cartels.
However, the Germanic Zone of America tightened it's rule on the Caribbean and made the drug trafficking through the Caribbean more expensive and dangerous. After the Colombian Cartels started looking for alternatives, a Honduran drug trafficker, Braulio Castaneda became the new trafficker. Castaneda became very important to the Guadalajara Cartel and after an invitation joined it to smuggle the new flow of drugs. Following this, he became the fourth highest ranking leader of the Guadalajara Cartel.
Colombian cartels started shipping cocaine to Honduras and then to Mexico. After the transportation to Mexico was complete, the Guadalajara Cartel was to transport it over the border into the Japanese, Neutral and Germanic zones of America. Initially, the cut was about 30% to 40% due to the Colombian Cartels taking responsibility if any drugs were lost. However, eventually the Colombian Cartels made it the Guadalajara Cartel's responsibility. The Colombian Cartels would demand 50% of the potential profits. If any narcotics were seized, this would not affect the profit of the Colombian Cartels, but instead the profits of the Guadalajara Cartel. This made the Guadalajara Cartel grow as it became richer and started improving it's narcotics transportation.
Collapse
Enrique Camarena, the DEA agent responsible for the capture of a large marijuana field.
The Guadalajara Cartel however suffered an immense blow once a large marijuana field with an annual production of $8 billion was located and seized by Mexican authorities. Enrique Camarena, a DEA agent, was the main agent behind the capture of the field. This angered Rafa Quintero, who alongside El Azul and others ordered the capture and torture of Camarena. After 30 hours of torture, Camarena was murdered. This caused Operation Leyenda to be formed, which was an operation by the DEA to take down the murderers of Camarena. In anger, Rafa murdered two more Americans in a restaurant.
Rafa Quintero was the main suspect, as the residence where Camarena was murdered belonged to Rafa. He fled Mexico by going to Costa Rica in a private jet. DEA agents and Mexican authorities were notified of Rafa's escape and ordered Costa Rican authorities to arrest Rafa Quintero and extradite him to Mexico. Rafa was quickly arrested and extradited back to Mexico, where he faced 40 years in prison.
Ernesto Fonseca was also rapidly arrested. Rafa's and his arrest put pressure on Felix Gallardo, who went into hiding. Eventually, most drug lords of the Cartel and Felix Gallardo met up in a house in Acapulco, where Felix redesignated the plazas.
Tijuana would be led by the Arellano brothers and Jesus Gutierrez, though effectively the Arellano brothers were fully in charge.
Juarez would absorb the effectively defunct Ojinaga Plaza and be led by the Carillo Fuentes family. The nephew of Ernesto Fonseca, Amado Carillo, would lead the cartel alongside Rafael Aguilar. Rapidly after the formation of the Juarez Cartel, the brother of Amado, Vicente Carillo, would also enter leadership of the Cartel.
Sinaloa would be controlled briefly by Güero Palma and El Azul, though they were swiftly arrested or killed, which left Joaquin Guzman as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. Eventually, other members such as Ismael Zambada, Coronel Villarreal and Arturo Beltran would join the leadership of the Cartel.
The Sonora corridor would go to the Quintero Family. As long as Rafa Quintero remained in prison, his brother Miguel Quintero would lead the local gang. They were offered to join the Sinaloa Cartel. However, they refused after a fallout with Joaquin Guzman's sons. They remained on good terms however.
The Nogales Plaza remained in the hands of Rene Verdugo.
The Milenio Cartel was a cartel that was established somewhere around the collapse of the Guadalajara Cartel. It was formed by the Valencia Family. Initially, it remained relatively small compared to other cartels, though it grew swiftly. Eventually, it's leaders would align with Coronel Villarreal, a high ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel. This made the Milenio Cartel a close ally to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Production of drugs was relatively smooth until Oscar Valencia was captured by the military. Juan Valencia became the new leader of the cartel. However, he was arrested soon after as well. Coronel Villarreal was also killed in a gunfight with the military, creating a power vacuum.
The power vacuum allowed separate factions to emerge. One of these groups was La Resistencia, led by Ramiro Pozos. The other large faction that established itself was led by Nemesio Oseguera. Oseguera's faction would later become the Jalisco Cartel. The Jalisco Cartel and La Resistencia became rivals and formed alliances with other cartels to devastate the other cartel.
La Resistencia aligned itself with Los Zetas, a former paramilitary organization for the Gulf Cartel. Los Zetas was a rival of the Sinaloa Cartel, which led to an alliance to form between the Jalisco Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel.
The remaining Milenio Cartel leaders joined several smaller gangs. Eventually, the Jalisco Cartel ceased it's alignment to the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels after unknown disputes.
Initially, the Sinaloa area was ruled by several separate drug traffickers such as Pedro Aviles. The Sinaloa Area transformed into a Sinaloa Plaza, a slightly organized group of drug traffickers. They joined the Guadalajara Cartel. It remained part of the Guadalajara Cartel until it's collapse, after which it turned into the Sinaloa Cartel. Unlike the initial Sinaloa Plaza, the Sinaloa Cartel was organized and larger.
The Sinaloa Plaza and the Tijuana Plaza had always rivalled immensely, though after the collapse of the Guadalajara Cartel relations seemed peaceful. However, at a wedding of Enedina Arellano and her husband, the Sinaloan Armando Lopez, known as El Rayo, disturbed the wedding. Ramon Arellano brought El Rayo outside and murdered him. This angered the Sinaloans, primarily Joaquin Guzman.
Guzman and Arturo Beltran, a lieutenant of the Sinaloa Cartel, met up with Jesus Gutierrez, a leader of the Tijuana Cartel. He started disliking the Arellano brothers and wanted control of the cartel himself. Jesus Gutierrez informed them about Benjamin Arellano's upcoming birthday. In the meantime, the Sinaloans start collaborating with Ismael Zambada (known as "El Mayo") and Baltazar Vega (known as "El Balta") as well. Both are drug traffickers, trafficking their narcotics through the Tijuana Cartel. However, neither were members the Tijuana Cartel.
At Benjamin Arellano's birthday party, Joaquin Guzman, Arturo Beltran and various sicarios ambushed the place disguised as police units. A gunfight erupted, in which many people were wounded and some died. One of the Arellano brothers, Pancho Arellano was captured and murdered. The rest of the Arellanos managed to flee the scene. Following the shootout, Ismael Zambada advised Guzman to remain under the radar.
Guzman attempted to flee to Guatemala. At Guadalajara airport, Guzman alongside Alfredo Beltran entered a shootout with sicarios of the Tijuana Cartel. Several bystanders were killed in the crossfire. Guzman and Alfredo Beltran managed to escape. Guzman continued his escape to Guatemala. However, upon arriving local authorities reported him and Mexican special forces arrested him quickly. Soon after Guzman's arrest, Güero Palma was arrested as well. This left only El Azul in charge of the cartel.
The war between the Sinaloa and Tijuana Cartels had fully erupted. The Arellano family suspected Jesus Gutierrez of treason and murdered him. Gutierrez was close to the Rene Verdugo, the leader of the Nogales Cartel. Due to Gutierrez's death, Verdugo ordered attacks on all Arellanos. The Tijuana Cartel was in a declining situation. They attempted to kill several of their drug traffickers working for them, such as El Mayo and El Balta. They also targeted other cartels, being the Nogales, Juarez, Gulf and Sinaloa cartels. El Azul was also a target of the assassination attempts. El Azul was shot but not killed, though it left him unable to lead the cartel as he went into hiding.
Tijuana's Downfall
The Tijuana Cartel had just declared war on most Mexican cartels and was in a bad position relative to the other cartels. Additionally, their only cocaine supplier, the Cali Cartel, had made a deal with the Colombian government to cease the cartel's operations in return for keeping all the legal assets they possessed. This meant their production of cocaine would cease and they would no longer supply Tijuana or any other cartel. No other suppliers were available, which made Tijuana weaker.
Following the assassination attempts on several associates of the Tijuana cartel, El Mayo joined the Sinaloa Cartel. He became a leader. El Mayo started working alongside Guzman, who by now had removed Guero Palma from leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel. At this point, solely Mayo and Guzman led the cartel.
The Sinaloa Cartel started collaborating with Los Mexicles, a paramilitary group based in Sinaloa, involved with drug trafficking to a certain extent. Los Mexicles sent heavily armored vehicles to Tijuana and commenced attacking Tijuana Cartel hideouts, safehouses and warehouses. Benjamin Arellano went into hiding, whilst Ramon Arellano was tasked with assassinating El Mayo. However, El Mayo had Ramon assassinated instead. Another Arellano brother, Javier Arellano, was targeted by El Balta. Javier was brutally murdered. Following Javier's death, Balta, his son and his daughter-in-law (El Mayo's daughter) were murdered.
Benjamin Arellano, the only remaining Arellano and leader of the Tijuana Cartel, was arrested. A Tijuana Cartel lieutenant, Teodoro Simental, waited for Benjamin's arrest or death to take control of the Cartel. He was close to Jesus Gutierrez, who was murdered by the Arellanos. To avenge Gutierrez, Teodoro aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel. Teodoro remained as the only remaining leader of the Tijuana Cartel. Because of his close ties to Gutierrez and the Sinaloa Cartel, he surrendered the Tijuana territories to the El Chapo and El Mayo. Local drug traffickers still working for the Tijuana Cartel continued their operations independently or joined the Sinaloa Cartel as well.
Dominance
The leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel were Joaquin Guzman and Ismael Zambada. However, several new members became leaders as well. The Beltran brothers were part of the cartel. The highest ranking Beltrans were Arturo and Alfredo. The Beltran family were a family of high ranking members and lieutenants that started dominating the Arizona border. Eventually, El Azul returned to the Sinaloa Cartel and became part of the leadership.
Another high ranking figure in the Sinaloa Cartel was Coronel Villarreal, who joined the cartel around the time El Mayo joined the Sinaloa Cartel. At the time he was a low ranking lieutenant. However, over time he grew in the ranks and became responsible for the production of methamphetamine and the relations between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Milenio Cartel. The Milenio Cartel was a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel until it's collapse. Oscar Valencia was arrested and soon after Juan Valencia followed. The arrests of the two leaders caused a power vacuum to emerge. Following their arrests, Coronel Villarreal was also arrested. A interfactional conflict emerged. The conflict caused the Milenio Cartel to collapse.
Guzman's Arrests
Joaquin Guzman was arrested once in Guatemala but escaped swiftly through a laundry cart. After he escaped, he met up with El Mayo, Arturo Beltran and El Azul. They discussed assassinating Rodolfo Carrillo, the leader of the Juarez Cartel at the time. The same week, Rodolfo was murdered whilst leaving a mall.
Eventually Alfredo Beltran was arrested by Mexican authorities. The Beltran brothers suspected Guzman of giving up Alfredo to the DEA and SS in return for continued operations. This was due to a number of reasons, but the two major reason were that Ivan Guzman, El Chapo's son, was arrested and imprisoned. Chapo allegedly gave up Alfredo Beltran to authorities in return for Ivan Guzman's release. It is alleged El Chapo chose Alfredo due to him expressing concerns regarding Alfredo's lifestyle and high-profile actions.
Following Alfredo's arrest, the Beltran brothers formed the Guerrero Cartel and fought the Sinaloa Cartel violently. The Guerrero Cartel aligned with Los Zetas, a former paramilitary group of the Gulf Cartel. Los Zetas rivalled both the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel, which caused an alliance to be formed between the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels. Though Sinaloa and Gulf worked together closely, their alliance deteriorated over time. The Guerrero Cartel and Los Zetas remain allied to this day.
Once Joaquin Guzman was arrested Damaso Lopez became the new leader of the Cartel. However, only a few months after he became the leader, he was arrested and extradited to the Germanic Zone of America. A power struggle emerged, with Ismael Zambada taking control of most of the cartel.
The initial founders of the Sinaloa Cartel included:
In Ecuador, the most dominant criminal organization is a criminal syndicate known as the Choneros Cartel. It was formed in the city Chone. It's founders are Josue Veliz, Luis Zambrano and Macias Villamar. The Choneros Cartel, similarly to the Gulf Cartel in Mexico, worked alongside the Maldeira Cartel. Once it collapsed, it grew swiftly.
In Venezuela a secretive drug trafficking organization named Cartel de los Soles was formed. It utilizes the extremely corrupted government to operate. Some sources indicate the highest ranking figures such as presidents, vice presidents and various other titles have also been influenced by Cartel de los Soles. The rampant corruption allowed Cartel de los Soles to seize full control of Venezuela, making it difficult for the Maldeira Cartel to have influence in the region.
