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National Drug Intelligence Center |
Mexican DTOs have established sophisticated and far-reaching drug transportation and distribution networks along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. Most of these networks incorporate operational cells based in communities within South Texas HIDTA counties. These expansive trafficking networks extend from the South Texas HIDTA region to all other regions of the United States and supply drug distributors in virtually every state in the country.
Law enforcement officers regularly seize multikilogram quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine from drug traffickers in South Texas. Law enforcement officers in South Texas often seize greater amounts of cocaine and heroin than officers seize in other areas along the U.S.-Mexico border, in addition to significant quantities of marijuana and methamphetamine. However, during the past year apparent changes in smuggling operations and shifts in smuggling routes have resulted in noticeable fluctuations in drug seizure totals along the U.S.-Mexico border, including in South Texas. Cocaine seizure totals declined significantly in South Texas during the past year, while total seizures for methamphetamine more than quadrupled, marijuana increased significantly, and heroin increased substantially. Despite these fluctuations and varying volumes of illicit drugs being smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border into South Texas, the region continues to be one of the most influential drug transportation and distribution areas in the United States. Most illicit drugs smuggled into South Texas HIDTA counties from Mexico transit the area en route to drug markets primarily in the Southeast, Great Lakes, and West Central regions of the United States.
Illicit drug production in the South Texas HIDTA region is limited--small quantities of powder methamphetamine, marijuana, and crack cocaine are produced in South Texas, primarily in San Antonio and throughout Bexar County. South Texas' proximity to Mexico and the abundance of illicit drugs available there mitigates the need for large-scale drug production in the area; drug production in this region generally supplies local or limited regional distribution.
Mexican DTOs and their smuggling operations are firmly entrenched in border communities along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and throughout the entire South Texas HIDTA region. Their influence over and control of drug trafficking in South Texas is unrivaled by any other trafficking group; however, other ethnic drug traffickers also contribute to the threat that drug trafficking poses to the South Texas HIDTA region. (See Table 1). Mexican DTOs operate sophisticated and widespread drug smuggling, transportation, and distribution networks that extend from Mexico and South Texas to all other regions of the United States and facilitate the transportation and nationwide distribution of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine. In addition, many Mexican DTOs produce drugs themselves or maintain direct connections to organizations that produce illicit drugs in Mexico or South America. These connections provide a continuous and virtually unlimited supply of illicit drugs for distribution in the United States.
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Drug Trafficking Organizations, Criminal Groups, and Gangs Drug trafficking organizations are complex organizations with highly defined command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or distribute large quantities of one or more illicit drugs. Criminal groups operating in the United States are numerous and range from small to moderately sized, loosely knit groups that distribute one or more drugs at the retail level and midlevel. Gangs are defined by the National Alliance of Gang Investigators' Associations as groups or associations of three or more persons with a common identifying sign, symbol, or name, the members of which individually or collectively engage in criminal activity that creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. |
Table 1. Drug Trafficking Activities in the South Texas HIDTA Region, 2008
| Drug | Race/Ethnicity/Nationality and Scope of Organization* | Drug Source Areas | Drug Destinations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cocaine/crack cocaine | African American (I, MS) Caucasian American (I, L, MS) Colombian (I) Cuban (MS) El Salvadoran (I, MS) Honduran (I) Mexican (I, L, MS) Mexican American (I, L, MS) |
Colombia Mexico (Coahuila, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Veracruz) Nicaragua United States (Georgia, Texas) |
Texas, Florida, Georgia |
| Heroin | African American (I) Caucasian American (I) Mexican (I) Mexican American (I) |
Mexico | Not Reported |
| Marijuana | African American (I, MS) Caucasian American (I, L, MS) Colombian (I) El Salvadoran (I, MS) Honduran (I) Mexican (I, L, MS) Mexican American (I, L, MS) |
Mexico (Coahuila, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas) United States (Texas) |
Texas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio |
| Methamphetamine | African American (I) Caucasian American (I) Colombian (I) Mexican (I) Mexican American (I) |
Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León) United States (Texas) |
Not Reported |
Source: South Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
* Scope
of organization is designated as International (I), Local (L), or Multistate (MS).
The Gulf Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel are the most prominent large-scale Mexican DTOs impacting the South Texas HIDTA region. These cartels have battled each other for control of smuggling routes through northeastern Mexico and the South Texas area since 2004. During the past year, the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas1 have finally cemented their control over plazas2 between Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, across the Rio Grande River from Del Rio and Brownsville, respectively. This is most evident as cartel-related violence between these DTOs has reportedly decreased in the Mexican states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas or has shifted to other areas along the U.S.-Mexico border and elsewhere throughout Mexico. However, cells of the Sinaloa Cartel still operate in these areas and throughout South Texas, and violent confrontations could reemerge at any time.
Several recent large-scale investigations demonstrate the dominant position that Mexican drug cartels, specifically the Gulf Cartel, maintain over drug trafficking in the South Texas HIDTA region and illustrate the range of their drug distribution and money laundering networks throughout the United States. Operations Puma, All Inclusive, and Prophecy, and Project Reckoning targeted the Gulf Cartel, which is based in Matamoros and operates extensively throughout South Texas. The Gulf Cartel is responsible for the smuggling of multiton quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana into the United States from Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, and Panama. In addition to drug and money laundering operations, Gulf Cartel members in Mexico and South Texas engage in firearms smuggling, kidnapping, and other violent crimes. These investigations resulted in the dismantlement or disruption of numerous Gulf Cartel distribution cells, the seizure of significant quantities of illicit drugs, the arrest of the Gulf Cartel's gatekeeper3 in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and the indictment of Gulf Cartel leadership, including Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs)4 Ezequiel Cárdenas-Guillén, Jorge Eduardo Costilla-Sánchez, and Heriberto Lazcano-Lazcano. For example, Project Reckoning resulted in more than 500 arrests and the seizure of more than 16 tons of cocaine, 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine, 25 tons of marijuana, and $60 million in U.S. currency.
Texas-based prison gangs and street gangs also are active in drug distribution within the South Texas HIDTA region. Prison gangs and street gangs generate most of their income from criminal activities, including drug production, transportation, and distribution. Gangs such as Mexikanemi (Texas Mexican Mafia), Tri-City Bombers, Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos (HPL), and Texas Syndicate transport and distribute illicit drugs throughout the South Texas HIDTA region. These gangs often maintain chapters throughout Texas and use chapters along the border to facilitate drug transportation to other areas of the state. For example, two recent Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigations--Operation Pistol Whipped and Operation Smoking Guns--targeted HPL chapters in Laredo and Houston. These investigations revealed that HPL members in Houston often make arrangements with Laredo-based HPL members for the delivery of marijuana and cocaine shipments from the border area to Houston. Mexikanemi is the most powerful and influential gang operating in the South Texas HIDTA region. This gang controls much of the wholesale, midlevel, and retail drug distribution in San Antonio and maintains a network of distributors throughout South Texas. In some instances, Mexican DTOs have established connections with gangs or individual gang members to facilitate drug trafficking activities. The Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, and Sinaloa Cartel reportedly use members of HPL, Texas Syndicate, Tri-City Bombers, Latin Kings, and Vallucos for smuggling, transportation, and enforcement purposes. Recent incidents, investigations, and arrests--including a drug-related shooting in Palmview, Hidalgo County--reveal that Mexican drug cartels also enlist gang members to perform home invasion robberies and collect drug debts in South Texas HIDTA counties.
Drug traffickers in the South Texas HIDTA region use sophisticated surveillance, countersurveillance, and communications techniques and technology to aid their trafficking operations. Many Mexican DTOs maintain cells that monitor law enforcement activities and the smuggling operations of rival traffickers. Information obtained through these intelligence-gathering operations is used to plan the timing and routes of smuggling attempts. Traffickers also employ various communications technologies to conduct business. The use of cell phones remains prevalent; traffickers often maintain multiple phones and rotate or drop telephone numbers on a regular basis to avoid law enforcement detection.
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