One cartel leader says they are trying to find ways to protect their families in case American forces attack within Mexico. Another says he is already hidden and rarely leaves his home. Two young men who produce fentanyl for the cartel say they have closed all the drug labs.
Mexican officials said arrests by Mexican authorities, drug attacks and barrage of lab busts forced at least some leaders to force a reduction in fentanyl production in Sinaloa, according to interviews with Mexican officials and six cartel operatives.
The cartel owns fear throughout Mexico, causing enormous damage in the US. However, in Culiacan, the state's capital, the dynamics seem to be changing for now, at least for now. Cartel operatives say they had to move the lab to other parts of the country and temporarily close production.
“You can't settle down, you can't even sleep because you don't know when they'll catch you,” said a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel who, like other cartel operatives, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being captured.
“The most important thing right now is to survive,” he adds, his hands shaking.
Unless Mexico halted fentanyl supply to the US, the government's crackdown on organized crime escalated after the Trump administration threatened retaliation, pledging high tariffs if the migration and drug flow continued.
President Trump began to emerge as possible tariffs soon after the November election, and soon after taking office, announced that he would collect 25% of Mexican goods if the country fails to act on border security and drug trafficking. The president gave Mexico the month to provide results and threatened to enact tariffs on March 4th if they were not satisfied.
Faced with economic turmoil, the Mexican government continued its attack. President Claudia Sinbaum sent 10,000 National Guard troops to the border, and hundreds of soldiers sent to Sinaloa.
“I had arrests and seizures every day,” Mexican security minister Omar Halfucci said at a recent press conference after returning for several days in Sinaloa. The detention led to a “continuous weakening” of the cartel, he said.
The country's law enforcement has seized as many fentanyl as the previous five months. Sinbaum's administration says that since October, it has arrested nearly 900 people in Sinaloa alone.
Then last week, the Mexican government said it had begun sending more than 20 cartel operatives to the United States that US authorities had hoped for. Trump's eagerness to fight the cartel was a clear signal for the Trump administration, but Trump said he wasn't satisfied with the government's efforts that day, and tariffs would take effect on Tuesday.
“The crime groups have not felt this level of pressure for a long time,” said Jaime López, a Mexico City-based security analyst.
In the interview, cartel operatives agreed. Some people said they are firing essential personnel to sell their property and compensate for lost revenue from the fentanyl trade dents. Others said they are investing money in sophisticated equipment to detect drones from the US government. This led the US to fly to Mexico between the Biden and Obama administrations.
Mexican criminal organizations have a long history of surviving efforts to dismantle them or simply split into new groups. However, several operatives said that for the first time in years they were truly afraid of arrest or death at the hands of authorities.
Experts pointed out that a decrease in Culiacán production does not necessarily affect the flows in northern fentanyl, as drugs can be made and cartels can move the lab elsewhere. And it's not clear how long the Culiacan confusion will last. Cooks and experts said they hope the cartel will reopen labs in the city if pressure is settled or if the group needs cash inflows.
But the crackdown had an immediate impact, they said, and some cited new pressures from Trump.
“Trump has set a deadline, and we're looking at all the results we've been able to see for years in a month,” Lopez said. “The government is sending a message that when they really want to, they can put that pressure on them.”
But even before the tariff threat intensified, Sinbaum had shown an eagerness to take on the cartel as soon as he took office on October 1st.
Her predecessor and political ally, former president Andre Manuel López Obrador, pursued his “unhugging” strategy, focusing on the root causes of crime, and avoiding violent conflicts with criminals in general.
She pledged allegiance to her mentor's vision, but Sinbaum made headlines with a rash of the battle between soldiers who died early in the presidency and cartel gunmen.
Cartel members said they are preparing their own for the growing pressure under Trump. American officials say the US has recently begun detecting drug labs by expanding drone flights to Mexico. Last week, the administration designated several cartels as terrorist organizations.
In an interview, cartel operatives said they import scanners to detect drones and to hire more people with experience in running and tracking such aircraft. They also said they increased weapons transport from the United States, the source of most of the illegal weapons used by Mexican criminals.
Within the Trump administration there are still some divisions about whether the US should take unilateral military action in Mexico against the cartel, or whether it should work more closely with the Mexican government in combating drug trafficking.
Mexican cartels are known for accumulating military-grade weapons such as IEDs and land mines, but operatives admitted in interviews that they can barely compete with the American arsenal. Still, one high-level operative said the cartel was ready to respond if an attack or strike took place.
“If a helicopter comes here and a soldier drops out, if 20-30 soldiers drop out, there's no way to sit here with your arms crossed.”
Speaking from prison, Cartel Fentanyl Cook said he actually agreed to the strengthened enforcement of the Mexican government, as he believed that suppressing cartel violence could prevent “innocent deaths.”
Last week, the Mexican army arrested two major players within the Sinaloa cartel. The Sinaloa Cartel was an intimate companion to Ivan Archive Doguzman Salazar, the most powerful son of the drug lord known as El Chapo. After news of the capture spread, the Mexican army deployed a surge in soldiers across the city, setting checkpoints and blocking the entire block.
Despite his arrests, Culiacan violence continues to take his life. On a recent Wednesday morning, the man's body was facing the middle of the street at a busy intersection, his hands tied and blood flowing from his head.
The next day, another man's body was found in a nearby residential area, his legs were tied up and a plastic bag above his head. Officials at the scene said the victim appears to have been shot dead on the spot.
Sinbaum defended records in his fight with the cartel and fought back violently against Trump White House's accusations that the Mexican government has a “extremely unbearable alliance” with drug traffickers.
“We are fighting organized crime groups, and there is no doubt about this,” she added at a press conference last month that she is “chasing organized crime.”
However, few people dispute the rampaging of corruption in Mexico. The last major crackdown on organized crime was led by the security chief, who was later convicted in US federal court for obtaining bribes from the Sinaloa cartel.
Cartel members said the only reason the government hadn't actually fought until recently was because they bought enough officials. One cartel cell leader said he suspects the new effort will seriously undermine the cartel.
“There are always weaknesses,” he said.
When asked to be labelled as a terrorist, the responses of cartel operatives ranged from indifference to d.
The prison fentanyl cook argued that the real terrorists are US users whose insatiable desire for drugs promotes trade. Two other young chefs agreed that the worst actor was north of the border. Weapon dealers who turn huge profits smuggling weapons into Mexico kill many people.
High-level operatives said he saw himself as a businessman rather than a terrorist.
“We talk about supply and demand,” he said.
He said that even if the government bombs all drug labs in Mexico, he wouldn't reduce Americans' dependence on drugs. He said that with the right ingredients, fentanyl can be synthesized almost anywhere in small kitchens or in elementary mountain labs. He said that as long as Americans want fentanyl, it will be made.
“Demand never ends. Products are still being consumed,” the operative said. “Addictions mean that demand is not over.”
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