NarcoWatch - 13 February 2026

Intense intra-cartel warfare within the Sinaloa Cartel has destabilized the state of Sinaloa, marked by large-scale military operations, shootouts, and the targeted killing of ten foreign-affiliated miners. Transnational criminal organizations are diversifying tactics, evidenced by a sophisticated human smuggling pipeline exploiting the Canada-U.S. border and an explicit directive from Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) to target U.S. Border Patrol agents. Meanwhile, law enforcement operations in Mexico resulted in significant arrests of Sinaloa Cartel and affiliate cells in Tijuana, Chihuahua, and Querétaro, seizing high-powered weaponry, narcotics, and a surveillance drone [3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11].

Significant Incidents and Articles of Interest

• Sinaloa Cartel Infighting Triggers Military Intervention and Civilian Deaths – Sinaloa, Mexico: The ongoing internal war between the Sinaloa Cartel's Los Chapitos and Los Mayos factions has escalated into open warfare, prompting major deployments by Mexican federal forces. On February 11, the Army, Navy, and National Guard launched a large-scale operation with helicopter gunships in Jesús María, Culiacán, a cartel stronghold [4]. The same day, a separate confrontation between Navy personnel and cartel members in El Limoncito, Culiacán, resulted in one gunman killed and nine arrested, along with the seizure of high-caliber weapons, grenades, and 89 explosive devices [15]. The violence has directly impacted civilians and foreign interests; ten miners working for the Canadian company Vizsla Silver Corp., who were abducted on January 23 in Concordia, were found dead in a mass grave [10]. Detained suspects from the Los Chapitos faction claimed the miners were mistaken for a rival group [12]. The pervasive violence is further underscored by the discovery of six bodies in an abandoned pickup truck in Culiacán on February 11 [16]. This conflict has turned Culiacán into a "war zone," contributing to a 66% increase in homicides in the state in 2025 compared to 2024 and severely disrupting regional stability and the security of legitimate international business operations [15].

• CJNG Escalates Violence in Tijuana and Issues Threats Against U.S. Agents – Tijuana, Mexico & U.S. Border: CJNG continues its violent campaign to control trafficking corridors in Baja California. On February 10, the bodies of three tortured men were discovered inside an abandoned vehicle in Tijuana's El Roble neighborhood [7]. The victims were left with narcomantas signed by CJNG, threatening rivals nicknamed "Laura," "Barbas," "Goku," and "300," and claiming ownership of the Tecate and Valle de las Palmas territories. This incident occurred the same day as a shootout in Valle de las Palmas between state police and a Sinaloa Cartel cell, highlighting the intense, ongoing territorial dispute [3]. An internal FBI memo dated February 10 warned that CJNG leadership has ordered its members to shoot U.S. Border Patrol agents from across the border. The directive is reportedly aimed at creating instability in areas controlled by the rival Sinaloa Cartel. The threat is amplified by reports that cartels, including CJNG, have acquired powerful .50-caliber armor-piercing ammunition produced at a U.S. Army-owned facility, which has been used to lethal effect against Mexican security forces [11, 17, 18].

• Northern Border Human Smuggling Pipeline Exposed – Quebec, Canada & Vermont, USA: U.S. federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment on February 11 against a smuggling ring that flew Mexican, Central, and South American migrants into Canada to guide them on foot across the border into Vermont [5]. The indictment charges Dominican national Francisco Antonio Luna Rosado and U.S. citizen Jesus Hernandez Ortiz with running the operation from at least August 2022 through March 2024. The network used encrypted chats and shared cellular location data to coordinate crossings near Stanstead, Quebec, and subsequent vehicle transport to New York City. This case confirms that Mexican cartel-linked networks are exploiting the northern border, a vulnerability traced back to Canada’s 2016 decision to lift visa requirements for Mexican nationals. The U.S. Department of Justice has responded by expanding its Joint Task Force Alpha to the northern border, acknowledging the route is no longer a secondary concern and is part of a "multibillion-dollar enterprise" [5].

• Major Law Enforcement Operations Disrupt DTO Cells – Querétaro, Chihuahua, and Louisiana, USA: Coordinated law enforcement efforts yielded several significant arrests. In Querétaro, a joint operation involving the Guardia Nacional, Army, and Navy resulted in the capture of 30 members of "Los Salazar," an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel [9]. Among those arrested was the cell's leader, Diego Salazar, alias "El Flaco." The group allegedly used Querétaro as a hub for drug distribution, extortion, and arms trafficking. In Guachochi, Chihuahua, state and federal forces dismantled a heavily armed cell, arresting four individuals with a military-grade arsenal that included a .50-caliber Barrett rifle, four fragmentation grenades, a surveillance drone, and over one million pesos in cash [8]. In the U.S., a traffic stop on Interstate 12 in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, led to the indictment of two men from Honduras and El Salvador after deputies discovered 360 pounds of methamphetamine and $7,100 cash in a hidden vehicle compartment. U.S. Attorney Kurt Wall described the seizure as one of the largest in Louisiana's history and "clearly the work of cartels" [6].

DTO Activity and Tactics

• DTOs: Sinaloa Cartel (Los Chapitos, Los Mayos, Los Salazar), Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), La Línea, various transnational smuggling networks.

New or Adapted Tactics

• Northern Border Human Smuggling: Cartel-linked networks are systematically using commercial air travel to fly migrants to Canada before moving them south across the U.S. border into Vermont and New York. The operations are coordinated using encrypted chat groups and live GPS location sharing for ground-level guidance [5].

• Use of Military-Grade Ammunition: Mexican DTOs are increasingly using .50-caliber armor-piercing and incendiary rounds, some of which originate from the U.S. government-owned Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. This ammunition provides cartels with the ability to penetrate armored vehicles and has been used in deadly attacks against Mexican police and military forces [11, 17, 18].

• Aerial Surveillance Drones: Cartels are incorporating technology for operational advantage. A cell operating in Chihuahua was found with a drone and multiple batteries for surveillance purposes [8]. Separately, La Línea has used drones to penetrate U.S. airspace from Juárez into El Paso, triggering national security alerts [14].

• International Logistics and Concealment: DTOs continue to leverage global shipping. In a recent seizure, 500 kg of cocaine originating from Peru was found hidden in two shipping containers in Buenaventura, Colombia, with final destinations in China and Mexico  [1]. In a U.S. operation, several tons of cocaine were seized from 188 packages in international waters off Mexico's coast [2].

Geographic Trends

• Exploitation of Canada-U.S. Border: Smuggling networks have established a reliable corridor from Quebec into Vermont, New York, and potentially Maine, capitalizing on the lightly patrolled terrain and Ottawa's visa-free policy for Mexican nationals [5].

• Intensified Conflict in Sinaloa: The internal war between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos has concentrated extreme violence in Culiacán (specifically the communities of Jesús María and El Limoncito) and the southern municipality of Concordia [4, 10, 15].

• Contested Plazas in Baja California: The border city of Tijuana, especially the Valle de las Palmas area, and the nearby municipality of Tecate are active conflict zones between CJNG and factions of the Sinaloa Cartel [3, 7].

• Consolidation in Central Mexico: Sinaloa Cartel-affiliated groups like Los Salazar are using states such as Querétaro as strategic hubs for coordinating logistics and operations impacting the broader central region of Mexico [9].

Targeting Trends

• Direct Threats to U.S. Law Enforcement: An FBI intelligence memo revealed a direct order from CJNG leadership for its members to conduct armed attacks against U.S. Border Patrol agents, representing a significant strategic decision to engage U.S. personnel directly [11].

• Foreign Commercial Interests: The abduction and murder of ten Mexican nationals working for a Canadian mining company in Sinaloa indicates that foreign operations and their personnel are vulnerable to becoming direct or indirect victims of cartel violence [10, 12].

• Rival DTO Members: Public displays of extreme violence, such as leaving tortured bodies with narco-messages, remain a primary tactic for intimidation and territorial control, as seen in CJNG's actions in Tijuana [7].

• Witness Elimination: An alleged accomplice of former Olympian and Sinaloa Cartel-linked trafficker Ryan Wedding was arrested in the U.S. for helping to locate a federal witness who was subsequently murdered in Colombia, highlighting the international reach of cartels to silence informants [13].

Indicators to Watch

• Shifts in territorial dynamics within Sinaloa, signaled by targeted assassinations or public displays of violence, as the "Los Chapitos" versus "Los Mayos" conflict evolves.

• Increased reporting of extortion attempts or violent incidents involving foreign-owned commercial operations (e.g., mining, agriculture) in Mexico.

• Emergence of new cartel alliances or splinter groups, potentially signaled through new narcomantas, social media propaganda, or changes in operational signatures.

• An increase in deliberate, armed attacks from Mexico targeting U.S. Border Patrol agents, potentially by CJNG, to destabilize corridors controlled by the rival Sinaloa Cartel.

• An uptick in seizures of sophisticated surveillance drones from cartel cells, particularly in contested regions like Chihuahua, signaling continued enhancement of their intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

• Attempts by DTOs to establish operational command or meeting points in historically calmer central Mexican states like Querétaro to leverage strategic highway access for coordination and logistics.