Mexico & cartels
Assessment
Rubio said on Sept 9 in Quito that vast territories of Mexico are governed by US-designated terrorist cartels rather than the state and doubled down on Sept 10 while hinting at unilateral US action; Sheinbaum answered at her Sept 10 press conference that Mexico is nobody's pinata and that the remarks are aimed at the November US midterms. Thousands of people dressed in white marched through Culiacan in a protest reported on Sept 14 demanding an end to the Sinaloa Cartel's internal war, whose toll since September 2024 is put above 3,000 dead. On Sept 12 Mexican forces rescued eight people from a clandestine CJNG clinic on a farm in Tecalitlan, Jalisco, arresting six suspected guards. A US presidential determination on major drug-transit countries was due on Sept 15, and the USMCA annual review remains unresolved.
Recent, assessed
- 2026-09-14Thousands march in white through Culiacan chanting 'we want peace' against the Sinaloa Cartel's two-year internal war, whose death toll is put above 3,000. france24.com
Level history
Levels set by research reviews. A level set by hand is shown at the top of the page while it is in force and is not part of this history.
| Date | Level | Status | Trend | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-15 | 3 | Escalating | ▲ escalating | Weekly review |
| 2026-09-14 | 3 | Escalating | ▲ escalating | Weekly review |
| 2026-09-12 | 3 | Escalating | ▲ escalating | Weekly review |
| 2026-09-12 | 3 | Escalating | ▲ escalating | Baseline |
Latest headlines 20
Matched to this entry by keyword from the pull of 19 Sep, 11:09 UTC. Not reviewed; some may be off-topic.
- Powerful laser puts cartel drones at the southern border on notice
- Behold the Most Handsome Melons in Mexico
- 'The Nest of Snakes': Warring Cartels Target Women in Mexico
- The Anti-ICE Campaign Protecting Mexico’s Train-Robbing Cartels
- U.S. Embassy Warns Mexico That 'Supporting Narcoterrorists Has Consequences'
- Trump Kept Mexico on the Drug Blacklist. Sheinbaum's Comeback: Audit Yourselves First
- Warring Cartels Target Women in Mexico
- Locals Call It the World’s Largest Cesspool, and Blame It for Surging Cancer
- 'What About US Cartels?': Mexico Gives 'REALITY CHECK' To Trump After Canada's Brutal 'War'
- Under pressure from Trump on cartels, Sheinbaum turns spotlight on US drug use
- Cannabis and cartels on Mexico’s border
- Felipe Calderón Net Worth
- Acapulco - From “Pearl of the Pacific” To Protection Central
- Latin America’s Balancing Act: Washington, Beijing, and the Post-Maduro Environment
- National earthquake drill to be held Saturday in all 32 states: Thursday's mañanera recapped