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The War Within the Sinaloa Cartel Explained

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One of the world’s most powerful criminal syndicates is facing a government crackdown and internal war after the son of a drug lord betrayed his partner.

Currency is plastered on the walls of rooms also bearing images of a dark-haired man with a mustache and a cross.

June 30, 2025Updated 8:14 p.m. ET

The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the world’s largest and most feared crime syndicates, sending huge amounts of fentanyl into the United States and violently resisting efforts to subdue it.

But with two governments cracking down and an internal war raging, its very survival is under threat.

After months of heavy financial and human losses, the cartel faces a moment of profound turmoil — one that analysts say could signal the end of the organization in its current form.

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Joaquin Guzmán Loera, known El Chapo, during an arrest in 2014.Credit...Ronaldo Schemidt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

What is the Sinaloa Cartel?

The Sinaloa Cartel is largely responsible for the mass production of fentanyl and other illicit drugs that have had a devastating effect in the United States.