The U.S. DEA warns a strategic alliance between Los Chapitos and CJNG could reshape Mexico’s criminal map, boosting drug and arms trafficking.
On May 17, 2025, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned that a strategic alliance between Los Chapitos, the four sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) could significantly alter the criminal landscape in Mexico, leading to expanded territories, greater resources and increased flows of narcotics and weapons across the U.S.–Mexico border.
The advisory, contained in the DEA’s annual National Drug Threat Assessment, cautioned that “a strategic alliance between CJNG and Los Chapitos has the potential to expand the territories, resources, firepower and access of these groups to corrupt officials, which could significantly alter the existing balance of criminal power in Mexico and could serve to increase the flow of drugs northward and the trafficking of weapons southward on the border”.
Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel embroiled in a bitter feud with the rival “Los Mayos” group since the arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, has long fought for control over key trafficking routes and revenue streams in Sinaloa. Meanwhile, CJNG, led by Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, has grown into one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent cartels, with operations in at least 24 of the country’s 32 states.
Security analysts warn that an alliance could allow CJNG to leverage Los Chapitos’ established Pacific Coast smuggling networks, while the Sinaloa faction gains access to CJNG’s extensive supply lines for precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine and fentanyl production. Such a coalition would pose new challenges to U.S. and Mexican law enforcement, potentially undermining joint efforts to curb drug trafficking and cartel violence.
The DEA’s warning underscores the evolving dynamics among Mexico’s major cartels at a time when President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration has ramped up federal operations against organized crime. Despite hundreds of raids and arrests in recent months, the prospect of a CJNG–Chapitos partnership highlights the adaptive strategies criminal groups employ to sustain and expand their illicit networks.
