The sons of “Chapo” against Rafael Caro Quintero in the incessant dispute for control of the Sonoran desert

 Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat TY Gus  Source

Now that Joaquín el “Chapo” Guzmán is in custody, it is his sons who have continued with the drug trafficking business and have tried to maintain and extend the dominions of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Currently, they seek to dominate the Sonoran desert, where there have been several confrontations with the Caborca ​​Cartel, led by Rafael Caro Quintero, who has also settled in the place.

In recent months, this area has increased its levels of violence due to the presence of criminal cells from both cartels that it constantly confronts in the municipality of Caborca.

An En Punto report by journalists Marco Antonio Coronel and Adrián Tinoco revealed that between January and August 2020 intentional homicides have increased 28% compared to the same period last year. That is, they went from 809 to 1,036 victims.

In an interview on the subject with the municipal president of the place, Librado Macías, who said that "it is something that has to do with the proximity that this region has with the United States, it is a very long border area."

He accepted that the sale of drugs persist in the municipality and the constant appearance of narcomantas that threaten to continue the wave of violence while one of the two cartels is the winner.

"It is a confrontation between two staunch criminal groups that seek to end their opponent, " said the municipal president.

However, the media highlights that the Sonoyta-Caborca ​​and Puerto Peñasco-Puerto Lobos highways are two areas where signs of violence are more frequent.

Sonora, given its geographical location, increases the interest of criminal organizations seeking to control drug trafficking. Among these groups is the criminal cell of Los Salazar  identified as the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel.

For years, Caborca ​​has been identified as the center of operations for Caro Quintero.

In May 2020 it was reported that in the state of Sonora the sale of luxury cars has been monopolized by Caborca, land of cattle ranchers, who could not be the purchasers. In addition , the purchase and sale of ranches increased substantially, which were sold at double their cost, and the buyers were not ranchers either.

According to the latest report from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the organization with the largest presence in the country is the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), which controls practically all the coastal states.

However, the Sinaloa Cartel is not far behind and its presence has been registered in states such as Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, Jalisco, Colima, Querétaro, State of Mexico, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Quintana Roo.

In addition, the agency reported the presence of other organizations such as the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, the Michoacana Family, the Beltrán Leyva, the Unión Tepito Cartel, the Tláhuac Cartel, Los Viagra, the Northeast Cartel, the Independent Cartel from Acapulco, Los Rojos and Guerreros Unidos, among many others.

The main conflict between the Sinaloans and the Caborca ​​Cartel is for the control of the state, where both are allied with Sonoran politicians who seek to keep some hectares of the desert, which have great wealth in their subsoil.