Overview
- Federal security chief Omar García Harfuch said the CJNG under Nemesio “El Mencho” provided money and armed personnel to a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as Los Chapitos as part of a tactical agreement reported in 2024.
- García Harfuch told reporters that the personal link that sustained that cooperation was broken when El Mencho was killed during a federal operation on February 22, 2026, and authorities have found no current evidence the alliance continues.
- Security agencies report ongoing arrests of alleged CJNG and Los Chapitos operators, extradition requests for key figures, and major drug seizures including more than 71 tonnes of cocaine seized by the Navy to weaken trafficking capacity.
- The government says the CJNG has not collapsed into widespread violence because regional commanders and clearly defined territories have held the group together, with Juan Carlos Valencia González named as a principal regional leader and possible successor.
- Officials caution the situation remains fluid because regional CJNG leaders and changing local dynamics could allow the partnership to be revived or trigger new fragmentations, so they are sustaining surveillance and targeted operations to prevent reactivation.