MUCH OF MEXICO IS CONTROLLED BY DRUG CARTELS

Report Says Organized Crime Occupies 81 Percent of Mexico

 

by Kelin Dillon

 

Pulse News Mexico

April 25, 2025

 

 

 

Troops of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)

 

New data released by the Mexican security consulting firm AC Consultores, utilizing information from the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), reveals that organized crime groups currently occupy over 81 percent of Mexico’s territory.

The report highlights the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) as the primary drug trafficking entities with the largest territorial presence in Mexico, collectively controlling more than half of the national territory.

According to AC Consultores, the CJNG operates in 28 of Mexico’s 32 states, excluding Campeche, Coahuila, Durango, and Sinaloa. Similarly, the Sinaloa Cartel is active in 24 states, excluding Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Querétaro, Morelos, Michoacán, Tlaxcala and San Luis Potosí.

 

CJNG troops pose by table picturing cartel boss El Mencho

The overlapping territories indicate a rivalry between the CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel for control, with AC Consultores suggesting that they are vying for dominance in 19 Mexican states – Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Mexico City, Colima, the State of Mexico (Edoméx), Guerrero, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatán and Zacatecas.

The Gulf Cartel and the Familia Michoacana are closely behind, holding operations in ten and seven states respectively.

Chihuahua, Edoméx, Mexico City, Michoacán and Sonora are identified as the regions with the highest concentration of organized crime cells, with Mexico City having the most significant presence, hosting 30 different drug trafficking groups.