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U.S. Department of Justice
National Drug Intelligence Center
Los Angeles HIDTA Drug Market Analysis 2010
May 2010
Mexican DTOs and criminal groups pose the most formidable organizational drug threat to the Los Angeles HIDTA region. Los Angeles-based Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are closely aligned with the most significant drug cartels in western Mexico, principally the Tijuana and Sinaloa Cartels (see text box), and they successfully use these relationships to maintain control over the smuggling and wholesale distribution of illicit drugs into the region. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups in the region often exploit the region's large Mexican illegal alien population for the riskier aspects of drug trafficking, typically using them to smuggle illicit drugs from Mexico or to tend cannabis grow sites or methamphetamine production operations. These well-integrated networks also forge relationships with members of other DTOs, criminal groups, street gangs, prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) that distribute significant quantities of illicit drugs at the retail level. In 2009, law enforcement officials supporting Los Angeles HIDTA initiatives disrupted 317 DTOs, up significantly from 305 DTOs in 2008 and 262 in 2007.
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The Tijuana Cartel's Influence is Diminishing Within the LA HIDTA Region The Tijuana Cartel has historically dominated the illicit drug trade in and through the Los Angeles HIDTA region. The organization smuggles cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine across the California-Mexico border into the LA HIDTA region for local distribution or transshipment throughout the United States. The arrests and/or deaths of key individuals have weakened the organization since 2003. The 2008 arrest of former cartel leader Eduardo Arellano-Félix precipitated an internal power struggle between cartel leader Fernando Sánchez-Arellano and recently apprehended Eduardo García-Simental, a former cartel lieutenant. This power struggle, combined with attempts by the Sinaloa Cartel1 to expand into the Tijuana area, has contributed to an escalation of violence in Tijuana and surrounding areas. The La Familia Michoacána DTO also recently aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, adding to the rivalry against the Tijuana Cartel. 1. The Sinaloa Cartel is made up of independent DTOs led by independent leaders Ismael Zambada-García, Ignacio Coronel-Villareal, and Juan José Esparragoza-Moreno, under the nominal leadership of Joaquín Guzmán Loera. |
The number of street gangs, prison gangs, and OMGs that distribute illicit drugs at the retail level in the Los Angeles HIDTA region is among the largest in the United States. There are approximately 250 gangs with a combined membership of over 26,000 active in the city of Los Angeles alone. Most Hispanic street gangs in the region are affiliated with or controlled by the Mexican Mafia (La Eme) prison gang, which has well-documented ties to Mexican drug cartels. The larger, more powerful Hispanic street gangs affiliated with La Eme, such as Avenues, 18th Street, Florencia 13, and Varrio Hawaiian Gardens, also have established direct ties with Mexican DTO members to facilitate drug trafficking.
African American, Caucasian, Colombian, Dominican, Salvadoran, Canadian, Chinese, Jamaican, Vietnamese, and other Asian criminal groups and independent dealers also transport illicit drugs to the Los Angeles HIDTA region for distribution. However, the scope of their trafficking operations is minor in comparison with the operations of Mexican DTOs.
UNCLASSIFIED
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