Sinaloa Drug Cartel Controls 16 Mexican States Including Baja California

By Dorian Hargrove | Posted January 3, 2012, 10:14 a.m.

The Sinaloa drug cartel is second only to Los Zetas when it comes to drug-related criminal activity in Mexico. A new report released by Mexican law enforcement, and reported by University of San Diego-based research group, Justice in Mexico, says the cartel now operates in 16 states, many of which are in the north, including Baja California and Baja California Sur-- the remaining portion of Baja Peninsula is controlled by the Arellano Felix family (Tijuana Cartel).

A map released by law enforcement officials shows the Sinaloa Cartel has drug cells in Sinaloa, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Veracruz, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Jalisco, Colima, Chihuahua, Durango, and Guerrero.

The powerful Cartel, however, took a hit late last month when Mexican Authorities announced they arrested cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guszman's top lieutenant, Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, also knows as "The Engineer."

Army officials are unsure how the arrest will affect the cartel's operations.

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