The two main Mexican drug cartels land in Chile

Chilean soldiers set up a checkpoint in Villarrica, in December 2020. Marcelo Hernandez (Getty Images)

Mexican cartels have spread their networks throughout Latin America, like multinational companies hunting for new markets.

The two main criminal groups in the country, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), have already landed in Chile.

This was confirmed in an interview this week by the Undersecretary of the Interior of the Government of Gabriel Boric, the socialist Manuel Monsalve, one of the main people responsible for order and public security in La Moneda.

“Three of the five most dangerous organizations in the world are found on this continent: the Aragua Train, the Jalisco New Generation [Cartel], and the Sinaloa Cartel.

All of these organizations already have influence or a presence in Chile,” Monsalve stated in an interview with the Chilean newspaper

.

He does it after numerous events carried out in recent months by these international bands.

The Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, in an image from his social networks.@DrManuelMonsalv (RR. SS.)

A plane from the Sinaloa Cartel tried to send 665 kilograms of cocaine from Chile to the port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

The CJNG established a laboratory in the Chilean city of Iquique.

He was also discovered trying to introduce 3.5 tons of marijuana into the country through the port of San Antonio, according to the Chilean Prosecutor's Office.

The evidence and sightings of cartel operatives no longer leave room for doubt about their interference in the region.

In mid-June, the Chilean police dismantled the

del Tren de Aragua faction, a criminal group of Venezuelan origin.

He arrested 11 people, who had drugs, weapons and bulletproof vests.

As part of the raid, investigators found a body on a hill in the northern city of Arica.

They had buried him alive.

The Chilean Prosecutor's Office already warned in September 2021 of the emergence of Mexican criminal groups.

During the presentation of the report

The National Prosecutor, Jorge Abbott, stated that “Chile is no longer a drug transit country;

in fact, well-known cartels from Mexico are trying to establish themselves here.

We have to admit that we have begun the path of those territories that host local production of illicit substances and the installation of cartels within their borders”.

For Monsalve, who supports the Minister of the Interior, Izkia Siches, in matters of security, organized crime appears to be the main cause of the security crisis that Chile is going through.

This is one of the main challenges of the current government and the main concern of the population, according to the latest survey by the Center for Public Studies (CEP).

In a country that has historically had lower crime rates than the rest of Latin America, families in the last three years feel more insecure and the most violent crimes such as homicides have increased, as reported by specialized organizations such as Paz Ciudadana.

"Drug trafficking is an important factor," said Manuel Guerra, former prosecutor of the metropolitan area.

The lawyer has said that the State is not enough for prevention or repression and points to another element: "There are imports of practices that were not common in Chile," Guerra has analyzed in relation to contract killings, motorcycle robberies or illegal loans.

For Monsalve, the arrival of organized crime implies "more violence, more weapons and more homicides."

"The crime that was previously committed by a person, is now carried out by sophisticated organizations that plan drug trafficking, immigrant trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling or cybersecurity crimes on a large scale," said the Undersecretary of the Interior, in addition to reveal that in the coming weeks the new public space recovery plan will be announced.

Mexican cartels go global

The Sinaloa Cartel's tentacles stretch across almost the entire globe.

According to the specialized portal

, it does not have a hierarchical structure, but rather is made up of cells independent of each other, which facilitates its deployment.

As one more multinational, which for its business abroad works with local partners who act as a kind of criminal subcontractor.

For years, the organization has been known to be one of the bloodiest and most powerful criminal groups in the world.

Its historic leader, Joaquín

Guzmán, has been serving a life sentence since 2019 in a US maximum security prison.

The arrest of

weakened the cartel, which began to be besieged by other rival organizations, in addition to suffering internal struggles for control between Guzmán's sons,

, and Ismael

Zambada, one of the last members of the old Mexican drug guard.

Zambada is the only drug dealer of his generation who has never been to jail.

He is on the list of most wanted criminals by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which offers 15 million dollars for his capture.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has become omnipresent in the usual scenes of Mexican violence.

It was born as a small group, a split from the extinct Milenio Cartel, just over a decade ago.

His taste for extreme violence, direct confrontation and the media coverage of his actions have lifted him to the top of world drug trafficking.

Since then, he has disputed the control of the drug routes in the country and the continent with the Sinaloa Cartel.

The DEA offers a $10 million reward for Nemesio Oseguera-Cervantes,

, number one in the CJNG.

However, according to an analysis by

, doubts about the health of its leader and the many open fronts he has had in the last decade are wearing down the criminal group.

Even so, the arrival of the cartel in Chile confirms that its international relations continue to expand.

“Organized crime is one of the main threats facing our democracy,” Monsalve said.

”A leftist government cannot abandon or leave the people in the hands of organized crime.

Security must be the priority, ”he sentenced.

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