Timeline of the Mexican drug war

The timeline of some of the most relevant events in the Mexican drug war is set out below. Although violence between drug cartels had been occurring for three decades, the Mexican government held a generally passive stance regarding cartel violence through the 1980s and early 2000s.{{cite news | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/11/america/LA_GEN_Mexico_Drug_Violence.php | title = Mexican government sends 6,500 to state scarred by drug violence | date = December 11, 2002 |work=International Herald Tribune }}

That changed on December 11, 2006, when the newly elected President Felipe Calderón sent 6,500 Mexican Army soldiers to the state of Michoacán to end drug violence there. This is regarded as the first major retaliation made against the cartel violence, and viewed as the starting point of the Mexican drug war between the government and the drug cartels. As time passed, Calderón continued to escalate his anti-drug campaign, in which as of 2008 there were about 45,000 troops involved along with state and federal police forces.{{cite news | author=Jorge Ramos and Ricardo Gómez | title=Urge sanear sistema de justicia: gobierno | date=November 27, 2008 | url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/164031.html | work=El Universal | access-date=March 1, 2009 | language=es | archive-date=June 6, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606210813/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/164031.html | url-status=dead }} In 2017, after the capture of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and his extradition to the U.S., turf wars between Sinaloa and CJNG escalated as did the number of homicides in Mexico.

In December 2018, incoming President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pledged to bring down gang-fueled violence and on January 30, 2019, he declared the end of the Mexican war on drugs.{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5517391/mexico-president-ends-drug-war/|title=Mexico's President Declares an End to the Drug War|magazine=Time}} but homicides hit a record level in 2019 with 34,600 murders and continued to climb even during the coronavirus lockdown.{{Cite web |last=Kahn |first=Carrie |date=23 July 2020 |title=As Mexico's Dominant Cartel Gains Power, The President Vows 'Hugs, Not Bullets |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/07/23/893561899/as-mexicos-dominant-cartel-gains-power-the-president-vows-hugs-not-bullets |access-date=22 September 2022 |website=NPR}}

2000-2009

=2006=

November 25 – Popular singer Valentín Elizalde is ambushed and gunned down along with his manager (and best friend) Mario Mendoza Grajeda, and driver Reynaldo Ballesteros, in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, across the border from McAllen, Texas.
December 1 – President Felipe Calderón assumes office. He also imposes a cap on salaries of high-ranking public servants and orders a raise on the salaries of the Federal Police and the Mexican Armed Forces.
December 11 – Operation Michoacán is launched against the La Familia Michoacana cartel. A total of more than 60 Mexican soldiers and more than 100 police officers, and 500 cartel gunmen are killed in the operation.

=2007=

January 2 – Operation Baja California is launched.
January 20 – Drug lord Osiel Cárdenas Guillén is extradited to the USA.{{cite web |url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/01/mexico-extradites-cartel-kingpins-to.php |title=Jurist – Mexico extradites cartel kingpins to US |publisher=Jurist.law.pitt.edu |date=January 20, 2007 }}{{cite news | author=Dane Schiller | title=Gulf Cartel chieftain apologizes to Mexico, U.S. | date=February 25, 2010 | url =http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6885318.html | work =Houston Chronicle | access-date =February 26, 2010 }}
March 17 – Zhenli Ye Gon is relieved of US$213 million in Mexico City.[http://www.milenio.com/index.php/2007/07/03/88340/ Zhenli: “Coopelas o cuellos”, me dijeron; Lozano demandará] Milenio, July 2, 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421221737/http://www.milenio.com/index.php/2007/07/03/88340/ |date=April 21, 2008 }}
May 14 – Jorge Altriste, head of operations for Mexico's elite police force in Tijuana, is murdered.{{cite web|url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14331495.htm |title=Reuters AlertNet – Top Tijuana policeman killed in Mexican drug war |publisher=Alertnet.org |date=May 14, 2007 |access-date=July 10, 2010}}
December 2 – Popular singer Sergio Gómez is kidnapped and killed.
December 8 – Gerardo García Pimentel, a crime reporter, is killed.[http://www.elmanana.com.mx/notas.asp?id=30446 "Asesinan a reportero en Michoacán"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124222108/http://www.elmanana.com.mx/notas.asp?id=30446 |date=January 24, 2009 }} El Manana – Domingo, December 9, 2007 (Spanish) (Retrieved on December 9, 2007)[https://web.archive.org/web/20071214061111/http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKN0836248320071209 "Gunmen in Mexico kill crime reporter"] Reuters – Sun Dec 9, 2007. (Retrieved on December 9, 2007)
December 29 – The entire police force in the town of Playas de Rosarito, Baja California, is disarmed under suspicions of collaborating with drug cartels.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7163818.stm |work=BBC News | title=Police disarmed in Mexican town | date=December 29, 2007 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}

For 2007, the drug-related death toll reached 2,477.{{cite news|title=Bodies of Mexican general, 2 soldiers found|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/02/03/mexico.soldiers/index.html|newspaper=CNN News|date=February 3, 2009}}

=2008=

January 1 – The Federal government, along with SEDENA, launches the Joint Operation Nuevo León-Tamaulipas in order to eliminate the operation areas of both the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas.{{cite news|title=Endurecen despliegue militar en el noreste|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/35926.html|newspaper=El Universal|date=November 25, 2010}}
January 21 – Mexican security forces capture drug lord Alfredo Beltrán Leyva.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7201571.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico arrests top drugs suspect | date=January 21, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
March 27 – The Federal government launches the Operation Chihuahua to confront the three drug cartels operating in the state.{{cite news|title=Advierten fracaso de Operativo Chihuahua|url=http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=75317&tabla=estados|newspaper=El Universal|date=March 27, 2010|access-date=August 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328092444/http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=75317&tabla=estados|archive-date=March 28, 2012|url-status=dead}} Ciudad Juárez's violence is among the major concerns in this operation.{{cite news|title=Más policías federales para Ciudad Juárez|url=http://www.informador.com.mx/mexico/2010/178938/6/mas-policias-federales-para-ciudad-juarez.htm|newspaper=El Informador|date=Feb 15, 2010|access-date=August 6, 2011|archive-date=April 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406221848/http://www.informador.com.mx/mexico/2010/178938/6/mas-policias-federales-para-ciudad-juarez.htm|url-status=dead}}
April 26 – 15 people are killed in a gun battle between the Tijuana Cartel and a rival drug cartel in Tijuana, Baja California.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7369325.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico drug gang clashes kill 15 | date=April 27, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
May 8 – Acting commissioner of the Federal Police Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez is gunned down in Mexico City. He was the highest-ranking Mexican official killed.{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/08/AR2008050803242.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=Manuel | last=Roig-Franzia | date=May 9, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010 | title=Mexico's Police Chief Is Killed In Brazen Attack by Gunmen}}
May 9 – Esteban Robles Espinosa, the commander of Mexico's investigative police force, is murdered in Mexico City.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/05/09/mexico.violence/index.html | work=CNN | access-date=April 1, 2010 | title=2 top Mexican police officials killed in 2 days | date=May 9, 2008}}
May 13 – The Federal government launches the Operation Sinaloa to crack down on the Sinaloa Cartel, the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, and Los Zetas in the state.{{cite news|title=ESPECIAL/Presencia federal: Operativo conjunto, una guerra sin fin|url=http://www.noroeste.com.mx/publicaciones.php?id=686740|newspaper=Editorial Noroeste|date=May 13, 2011|access-date=August 6, 2011|archive-date=October 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005235143/http://www.noroeste.com.mx/publicaciones.php?id=686740|url-status=dead}}
May 28 – Seven Federal Police agents die in a shootout in Culiacán.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7422870.stm |work=BBC News | title=Police killed in Mexico drug raid | date=May 28, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010 | first=Duncan | last=Kennedy}}
May 31 – The United States announces it is implementing a drug trafficking law to impose financial sanctions on Mexican drug cartels.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7428802.stm |work=BBC News | title=US imposes sanctions on PKK group | date=May 30, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
June 26 – Police commander Igor Labastida is shot dead in a restaurant in Mexico City.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7476682.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexican police commander killed | date=June 26, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010 | first=Duncan | last=Kennedy}}
June 30 – The Mérida Initiative, a US$1.6 billion security cooperation agreement between the US and Mexico, announced on October 22, 2007, is signed into law.{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/fs/122395.htm |title=Merida Initiative: Myth vs. Fact |access-date=November 18, 2009 |date=June 23, 2009 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130054802/http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/fs/122395.htm |archive-date=November 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}
September 13 – In Ocoyoacac, 24 bodies are found at a national park called La Marquesa; all bodies were shot and showed signs of torture.{{cite news|title=Multiejecución en La Marquesa|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/538090.html|newspaper=El Universal|date=September 13, 2008}}
September 15 – 2008 Morelia grenade attacks: eight civilians are killed and more than 100 are injured in Morelia after hand grenades are thrown into a crowd.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/world/americas/25mexico.html?_r=2&ref=americas&oref=slogin | work=The New York Times | title=Grenade Attack in Mexico Breaks From Deadly Script | first=Marc | last=Lacey | date=September 25, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
September 17 – Over 200 people across Mexico, Guatemala, Italy and the United States, including members of the Gulf Cartel and the 'Ndrangheta are arrested in a major anti-drug trafficking operation called Operation Solare.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7622099.stm |work=BBC News | title=Scores held in global drug bust | date=September 17, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
October 22 – Police capture boss Jesús Zambada García of the Sinaloa Cartel after a shootout in Mexico City.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7685002.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexican 'drug cartel boss' seized | date=October 22, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
October 24 – Criminal investigator Andrés Dimitriadis is shot dead by cartel gunmen (sicarios) in his car on his way home in Cuernavaca, Morelos.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7691475.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico hunts prosecutor's killers | date=October 26, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
October 26 – The Mexican army captures drug lord Eduardo Arellano Félix after a shootout in Tijuana.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7692319.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico seizes top drugs suspect | date=October 27, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
November 2 – The Federal Police chief Víctor Gerardo Garay resigns amidst claims of corruption.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7704654.stm |work=BBC News | title=Top Mexico police officer resigns | date=November 2, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}} He is arrested and charged on December 10 for protecting the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.{{cite news | title =Encarcelan al ex comisionado de PFP Gerardo Garay Cadena | date =11 December 2008 | url =http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=403216 | work =La Cronica de Hoy | access-date =March 1, 2010 | language =es | archive-date =June 11, 2010 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100611140638/http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=403216 | url-status =dead }}
November 6 – In Reynosa, the Mexican army makes the largest weapon seizure in the history of Mexico. The seizure includes 288 assault rifles, 126 handguns, 166 grenades, 14 TNT explosives, 500,000 cartridges, over 1,000 ammunition magazines, and a rocket launcher.{{cite news|title=En Reynosa militares logran decomiso histórico de armas|url=http://www.informador.com.mx/mexico/2008/52366/6/en-reynosa-militares-logran-decomiso-historico-de-armas.htm|newspaper=El Informador|date=November 7, 2008|access-date=August 4, 2011|archive-date=April 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406221841/http://www.informador.com.mx/mexico/2008/52366/6/en-reynosa-militares-logran-decomiso-historico-de-armas.htm|url-status=dead}}
November 7 – The Federal Police arrest Jaime González Durán in Tamaulipas; he was a founding member of Los Zetas.{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/553729.html |title=Cae el Hummer, presunto fundador de Los Zetas – El Universal – México |publisher=Eluniversal.com.mx }}
November 17 – Rodolfo de la Guardia García, ex-director of Mexico's Interpol office, is arrested and charged of protecting the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.{{cite news | title=In Drug Inquiry, Mexico Arrests Another Top Police Official | date=November 18, 2008 |work=The New York Times | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/world/americas/19mexico.html | agency =Associated Press | access-date =March 1, 2010 }}
November 19 – Mexican Interpol chief Ricardo Gutiérrez Vargas is arrested on suspicion of links with drug cartels.{{cite news | author=Arthur Brice | title=Arrest of Interpol official sparks security breach concerns | date=November 18, 2008 | url =http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/11/19/mexico.arrest/ | work =CNN News | access-date =March 1, 2010 }}{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7736826.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico's Interpol chief arrested | date=November 19, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
November 21 – Noé Ramírez Mandujano, ex-head of Mexico's anti-organized crime agency, is arrested on suspicion of links with drug cartels.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7742409.stm |work=BBC News | title=Ex-crime chief arrested in Mexico | date=November 21, 2008 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}{{cite news | author=Ken Ellingwood | title=Former anti-drug chief is arrested | date=November 22, 2008 | url =https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-22-fg-bribe22-story.html | work =Los Angeles Times | access-date =March 1, 2010 }}
November 30 – Guatemalan and Mexican drug cartels clash on the two countries' border, leaving 18 dead.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/12/05/guatemala.safe.haven/index.html | work=CNN | access-date=April 1, 2010 | title=Mexican drug cartels infiltrating Guatemala | date=December 5, 2008}}
December 10 – Felix Batista, an American anti-kidnapping expert, is kidnapped in Saltillo.{{cite news|last=Stevenson |first=Mark |title=US anti-kidnapping expert kidnapped in Mexico |publisher=Yahoo! |date=December 15, 2008 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081215/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_american_kidnapped |access-date=December 15, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216021028/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081215/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_american_kidnapped |archive-date=December 16, 2008 }}
December 21 – Seven off-duty soldiers and one police commander are kidnapped, tortured and decapitated.{{cite news | author=Andres R. Martinez | title=Mexican Soldiers' Decapitated Bodies Discovered | date=December 22, 2008 | publisher=Bloomberg | url =https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aiBNfIX2wea4&refer=latin_america | access-date =December 25, 2008 }} Their heads are left at a shopping center located in Chilpancingo with a threat note to the military.

For 2008, the drug-related death toll reached 6,290.{{cite news|title=Mexico: 1,000 killed in drug violence so far in '09|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-02-26-mexico-drug-violence_N.htm|newspaper=USA Today|date=February 26, 2009}}

=2009=

January 2 – Mexican authorities arrest Alberto Espinoza Barrón, one of the La Familia Michoacana cartel leaders.{{cite web|url=http://www.mexico.vg/mexicos-drug-cartels/la-familia-michoacana-drug-trafficking-cartel-boss-is-in-police-custody-in-mexico/296 |title=La Familia Michoacana drug trafficking Cartel boss is in Police custody in Mexico « Mexico | Vacation Packages | Travel Site | Mexico Blog |publisher=Mexico.vg |date=January 2, 2009 }}
January 6 – Gunmen fire on and throw grenades at the Televisa TV station in Monterrey during a nightly newscast, causing no injuries. A note left on the scene reads: "Stop reporting just on us. Report on the narco's political leaders."{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0108/p25s20-woam.html|title=Narcotraffickers attack Televisa, Mexico's top TV network|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=January 8, 2009|access-date=December 2, 2014}}
January 22 – Police arrest Santiago Meza, a man who allegedly dissolved 300 bodies of rival drug traffickers for his boss Teodoro García Simental.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7848611.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico man 'dissolved 300 bodies' | date=January 24, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
February 3 – The body of retired General Mauro Enrique Tello Quiñónez, who had been appointed a special drugs consultant to the Benito Juárez municipality mayor, is found near Cancún along with the bodies of his aide and a driver.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/02/04/mexico.general/ | work=CNN | access-date=April 1, 2010 | title=Mexico drug fighter killed after less than a day on job | date=February 4, 2009}}
February 5 – Police capture trafficker and lieutenant Gerónimo Gámez García in Mexico City.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7871365.stm |work=BBC News | title='Key drugs player' held in Mexico | date=February 5, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010 | first=Stephen | last=Gibbs}}
February 7 – The Federal government, along with SEDENA, launches the Operation Quintana Roo, sending thousands of troops to Cancún and several cities within the state.{{cite news|title=Inicia Ejército operativo en Cancún|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/575228.html|newspaper=El Universal|date=February 7, 2009|access-date=August 6, 2011|archive-date=October 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008161016/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/575228.html|url-status=dead}} Several police officers in that state are found guilty of drug trafficking, and 'El Puma,' a Gulf Cartel lieutenant, is captured.{{cite news|title=Mexico drug gang 'boss' arrested|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8100092.stm|newspaper=BBC News {{!}} Americas|date=June 15, 2009|first=Stephen|last=Gibbs}}
February 10 – Military troops take over a police station in Cancún in connection with the torture and murder of former general Mauro Enrique Tello Quiñónez, who led an elite anti-drugs squad.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7880741.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexican troops swoop on police HQ | date=February 10, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
February 12 – Gunmen assassinate Detective Ramón Jasso Rodríguez, the chief in charge of the homicide division for the state police of Nuevo León.{{cite web|url=http://www.nuevoleonenlinea.com/ |title=Noticias de Nuevo Leon |publisher=NuevoLeonenlinea.com }}
February 15 – The Mexican Navy, with the help of the United States Coast Guard, confiscate 7 tons of cocaine being transported on a fishing vessel in international waters in the Pacific Ocean.[http://www.semar.gob.mx/boletin/2009/bol_046_09.htm Secretaria de Marina – Armada de México] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221041207/http://www.semar.gob.mx/boletin/2009/bol_046_09.htm |date=February 21, 2009 }}http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/ameri...ref=rss_latest {{Dead link|date=August 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}
February 17 – A shootout takes place in the city of Reynosa between members of the Mexican Army and presumed members of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas. The death of the high-ranking Gulf Cartel leader Héctor Manuel Sauceda Gamboa is confirmed.{{cite news|last=Macey|first=Robert|title=Dramatic Video of a Mexican Gun Battle|url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/gun-battle-in-mexico-near-the-us-border/|access-date=15 June 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=20 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221213605/http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/gun-battle-in-mexico-near-the-us-border/|archive-date=February 21, 2009 }}{{cite news|title=Narco: infierno en Tamaulipas |url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=110531 |access-date=15 June 2013 |newspaper=Proceso |date=27 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615145933/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=110531 |archive-date=June 15, 2013 |url-status=live |language=es }}
February 20 – Ciudad Juárez's Police Chief Robert Orduna announces his resignation after two police officers are killed. Drug traffickers had threatened to kill one police officer every 48 hours until the chief resigned.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/02/20/juarez.police/ | work=CNN | access-date=April 1, 2010 | title=Death threats force Juarez police chief to resign, mayor says | date=February 20, 2009}}{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7902963.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico police chief stands down | date=February 21, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
February 22 – Five assailants attack the convoy of Chihuahua governor, José Reyes Baeza, killing a bodyguard.{{cite web|url=http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=a93e26139fdb82fcb9adc7ee375ff701|title=Diario.mx: Edición Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua|website=Diario.com.mx|access-date=February 18, 2015|archive-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217100600/http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=a93e26139fdb82fcb9adc7ee375ff701|url-status=dead}}
February 24 – Mexican authorities extradite Miguel Ángel Caro Quintero, top-leader of the Sonora Cartel, to the U.S.{{cite web|title=Diario.mx: Edición Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua|url=http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=2108a0b0fbca57192059aef1c034f039|access-date=February 18, 2015|website=Diario.com.mx|archive-date=March 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314043912/http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=2108a0b0fbca57192059aef1c034f039|url-status=dead}}
Heavily armed gunmen assassinate Adrián López, mayor of Vista Hermosa, Michoacán.{{cite web|url=http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=ab1b7ed1b1c70a16e319d36c4ceb23d6|title=Diario.mx: Edición Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua|website=Diario.com.mx|access-date=February 18, 2015|archive-date=March 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314043916/http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=ab1b7ed1b1c70a16e319d36c4ceb23d6|url-status=dead}}
U.S. raids code-named Operation Xcellerator on the Sinaloa cartel in California, Minnesota and Maryland lead to 755 arrests, the discovery of a 'super meth lab' and laboratory equipment capable of producing 12,000 ecstasy pills per hour.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7911468.stm |work=BBC News | title=US raids target Mexican drug gang | date=February 26, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
February 25 – The New York Times reports on ATF statistics stating that 90% of traced guns originated in the United States.{{cite news | first=James C. | last=McKinley | title=U.S. Is Arms Bazaar for Mexican Cartels | date=February 25, 2009 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/us/26borders.html | work=The New York Times | access-date=March 12, 2009 }}
{{cite journal|title=Narco-Violence in Mexico|publisher=American Diplomacy Publishers|first=GEN. BARRY|last=MCCAFFREY (USA-RET.)|issue=January 16, 2009|url=http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2009/0103/comm/mccaffery_mexico.html|access-date=May 28, 2009}}{{cite news | title =US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Calls for Action on Guns to Mexico | date =March 21, 2009 | url =http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=329899&CategoryId=14091 | work =Latin American Herald Tribune | access-date =March 21, 2009 | archive-date =July 19, 2011 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110719153521/http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=329899&CategoryId=14091 | url-status =dead }}{{Cite book| contribution=Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to Combat Arms Trafficking to Mexico Face Planning and Coordination Challenges| title=Firearms Trafficking| publisher=U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)| date= June 18, 2009| contribution-url=http://gao.gov/products/GAO-09-709| access-date=June 21, 2009}}{{Cite book| first=William| last=Hoover| contribution=STATEMENT AT THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE| title=Statement by William Hoover, Assistant Director for Field Operations, Bureau of ATF| publisher=UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS| place=Washington, D.C.| date=February 7, 2008| contribution-url=http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/hoo020708.htm| access-date=March 21, 2009| archive-date=August 13, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813021728/http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/hoo020708.htm| url-status=dead}}*{{cite web |url=http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov/eng/texts/et080116eTrace.html |title=Project Gunrunner |access-date=March 14, 2009 |year=2007 |publisher=Embassy of the U.S. in Mexico |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315004901/http://usembassy-mexico.gov/eng/texts/et080116eTrace.html |archive-date=March 15, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}{{Cite journal| title=CRS Report for Congress| editor=William J. Krouse| date=May 30, 2008| url=http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34514_20080530.pdf| access-date=March 1, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218212931/http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34514_20080530.pdf| archive-date=February 18, 2012| url-status=dead}}
{{cite news |title=ICE INITIATIVES TO COMBAT SOUTHWEST BORDER VIOLENCE |date=July 6, 2007 |publisher=U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) |url=http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/070709national_fs.htm |access-date=March 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108052113/http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/070709national_fs.htm |archive-date=January 8, 2009 }} This prompts a resurgence of heated debates in USA concerning the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban.{{cite news | first=William | last=La Jeunesse | author2=Maxim Lott | title=The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S. | date=April 2, 2009 | publisher=Fox News | url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/02/myth-percent-guns-mexico-fraction-number-claimed/ | access-date=April 3, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405032751/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/02/myth-percent-guns-mexico-fraction-number-claimed/ | archive-date=April 5, 2009 | df=mdy-all }}{{Cite book| contribution=Money Guns and Drugs: Are U.S. Inputs Fueling Violence in the U.S.-Mexico Border?| title=Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs – Testimony of Chris W. Cox during a House Hearings| publisher=National Rifle Association| place=Washington, D.C.| page=2| date=March 12, 2009| contribution-url=http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/ushousehearings/031209/TestimonyChrisCox.pdf| access-date=April 4, 2009}}{{cite news | first=Joshua Rhett | last=Miller | title=Gun Advocates Ready for Battle on Federal Assault Weapons Ban | date=March 17, 2009 | url =http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/17/gun-advocates-ready-battle-federal-assault-ban/ | work =Fox News | access-date =March 21, 2009 }}{{cite news|first=Suzanne |last=Gamboa |title=Gun control debate hangs over U.S.-Mexico violence |date=March 24, 2009 |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_lxdamGL72UQyZnOAx07zCcjhiwD974CP9G0 |access-date=March 24, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327102557/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_lxdamGL72UQyZnOAx07zCcjhiwD974CP9G0 |archive-date=March 27, 2009 }}{{cite news | author1=Michael Isikoff|author2=Mark Hosenball | title=A Self-Inflicted Gun Wound | date=March 25, 2009 | url =http://www.newsweek.com/id/191037 | work =Newsweek | access-date =March 30, 2009 }}
February 28 – Close to 1,800 Mexican troops arrive in Ciudad Juárez as part of a contingent of 5,000 Federal Police and troops.{{cite web|url=http://mx.noticias.yahoo.com/s/28022009/38/n-mexico-llegan-1-800-soldados-ciudad.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713211634/http://mx.noticias.yahoo.com/s/28022009/38/n-mexico-llegan-1-800-soldados-ciudad.html|url-status=dead|title=No se encontró la página – Yahoo!|date=July 13, 2012|archive-date=July 13, 2012|website=Archive.today|access-date=April 9, 2018}}
March 9 – The Mexican Army confirms the arrest of 26 members of the Arrellano Félix Cartel, including Ángel Jácome Gamboa (El Kaibil), one state police officer, one municipal police officer, and other suspects.{{cite web|url=http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Noticias/09032009/362120.aspx|title=Frontera.info – Confirman captura de 'El Kaibil', lugarteniente de 'El Teo'|website=Frontera.info|access-date=August 12, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312024723/http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Noticias/09032009/362120.aspx|archive-date=March 12, 2009|df=mdy-all}}
March 10 – The Mexican Ministry of Defense orders 6 Eurocopter EC 725 Helicopters from Eurocopter to transport soldiers in special operations. The deal is finalized behind closed doors between Felipe Calderón and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.{{cite web |url=http://www.eurocopter.com/publications/FO/scripts/newsFO_complet.php?lang=EN&news_id=595 |title=Eurocopter, an EADS company |publisher=Eurocopter.com |date=March 10, 2009 |access-date=March 11, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314041927/http://www.eurocopter.com/publications/FO/scripts/newsFO_complet.php?lang=EN&news_id=595 |archive-date=March 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/582626.html |title=Ejército compra a Francia seis helicуpteros EC 725 Cougar |work=El Universal }}
March 12 – The United States Department of Homeland Security states that it is considering using the National Guard 'as a last resort' to counter the threat of drug violence in Mexico from spilling over the border into the US.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7941043.stm |title=– Americas – March-12-09 |work=BBC News |date=March 13, 2009 }}
March 19 – Mexican military captures Vicente Zambada Niebla alleged Sinaloa Cartel drug boss and son of drug lord Ismael Zambada García El Mayo.{{cite web |url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/584798.html |title=Detienen al hijo de El Mayo Zambada |work=El Universal |access-date=March 19, 2009 |archive-date=October 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008161039/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/584798.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_drug_capture|title=Mexico nabs suspected cartel leader without a shot|date=March 22, 2009|access-date=April 9, 2018|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322101447/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_drug_capture|archive-date=March 22, 2009|df=mdy-all}}
March 22 – Gunmen kill Édgar Garcia, a state police commander in charge of investigating kidnappings and extortion in the western state of Michoacán.https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090323/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_violence;_ylt=AmXSbL0SfiYNOu3xNsCzpz23IxIF {{dead link|date=March 2010}}
March 23 - Mexican authorities publish a List of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords
March 25 – A Mexican Special Forces Unit captures one of Mexico's most-wanted drug smugglers, Héctor Huerta Ríos.{{cite web|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090325/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_most_wanted|title=Mexico captures another 'most-wanted' trafficker|date=March 28, 2009|access-date=April 9, 2018|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328114521/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090325/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_most_wanted|archive-date=March 28, 2009|df=mdy-all}}
March 26 – A US Marshal, Vincent Bustamante who was the subject of an arrest warrant, is found dead in Ciudad Juárez.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/26/marshal.killed/index.html | work=CNN | access-date=April 1, 2010 | title=Wanted U.S. marshal's body found in Mexico - CNN.com}}
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announces the future delivery of an additional 8 Black Hawk helicopters to Mexican security forces.{{cite news | author=Ken Ellingwood | title=U.S. shares blame for Mexico drug violence, Clinton says | date=March 26, 2009 | url =https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-mar-26-fg-mexico-clinton26-story.html | work =Los Angeles Times | access-date =March 1, 2010 }}
Germán Torres Jiménez, alias El Z-25, a founding member of Los Zetas, is captured in Poza Rica.{{cite news|date=April 26, 2009|url=http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8565806|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|title=Capturan en Veracruz a fundador de Los Zetas|access-date=October 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026200148/http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8565806|archive-date=October 26, 2011|url-status=dead}}
April 2 – Vicente Carrillo Leyva, son of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, is arrested in Mexico City.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7979765.stm |title=Vicente Carrillo Levya arrested |work=BBC News |date=April 2, 2009 }}
April 19 – Eight Federal Police agents are killed in an attack on a prison convoy transporting senior leaders of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8006687.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico drug gang's rescue foiled | date=April 19, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
The Federal Police captures 44 suspected members of La Familia Cartel, including its chief Rafael Cedeño Hernández "El Cede".{{cite web | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6131629.ec | title=Latest news & breaking headlines }}
April 22 – The bodies of two undercover federal agents are found in Durango, along with a note saying "Neither priests nor rulers will ever get El Chapo" (referring to Joaquín Guzmán and with clear allusion to the comments of the Archbishop of Durango Héctor González Martínez.)https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/23/world/AP-LT-Drug-War-Mexico.html?ref=global-home {{Dead link|date=August 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}
May 17 – Gulf cartel gunmen disguised as police officers break into a prison in Zacatecas and free 50 inmates.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8054021.stm |work=BBC News | title=Gang fools Mexico prison guards | date=May 17, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
May 27 – 27 high-ranking officials in Michoacán, including 10 mayors and a judge, are arrested for suspected collaboration with La Familia Cartel.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8069410.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico arrests mayors in drug war | date=May 27, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
June 6 – A total of 16 cartel gunmen and 2 Mexican Army soldiers are killed during a four-hour shootout in Acapulco.{{cite news| url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-shootout8-2009jun08,0,7718575.story | work=Los Angeles Times | title=Acapulco shootout leaves 18 dead | first=Ken | last=Ellingwood | date=June 8, 2009 | access-date=May 25, 2010}}
June 15 – Juan Manuel Jurado Zarzoza a lieutenant of the Gulf Cartel in Cancún is captured.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8100092.stm |work=BBC News | title=Mexico drug gang 'boss' arrested | date=June 15, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010 | first=Stephen | last=Gibbs}}
June 26 – Gunmen attempt to kill Ernesto Cornejo, a Partido Acción Nacional candidate, in Sonora, but fail.
July 7 – Anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron and his brother-in-law Luis Widmar are murdered after armed men storm their house in Galeana, Chihuahua.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8141997.stm |work=BBC News | title=Crime campaigner killed in Mexico | date=July 9, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
July 11 – Several state police offices are attacked by gunmen in Michoacán, leaving several injured and 2 members of the Mexican Army dead.
July 14 – Twelve Mexican Federal Police agents are kidnapped, tortured and killed, with their bodies later disposed on a mountain highway. The agents were investigating crime in President Felipe Calderón's home state of Michoacán.
Julio César Godoy Toscano, who was elected on July 5, 2009, to the Lower House of Congress, is discovered to be a top-ranking member of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel, and is accused of protecting that cartel.{{cite news | title=2 Mexican politicians sought; drug cartel link alleged | date=July 15, 2009 | url =http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/07/15/mexico.violence/ | work =CNN News | access-date =August 14, 2009 }} He is now a fugitive.
August 6 – A shootout between police and gunmen leaves over a dozen dead and 22 injured in Pachuca. Some kidnapped Federal agents are found alive, but the confrontation initiates simultaneous shootouts and grenade attacks on police installations around Mexico.
August 8 – Federal Police arrest Manuel Invanovich Zambrano Flores, a top lieutenant of the Tijuana Cartel.https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090808/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico {{dead link|date=March 2010}}{{Cite book | title = At least 14 killed in Mexico attacks

| date = August 7, 2009 |publisher=CNN News | url = http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/08/07/mexico.gunbattles/index.html?section=cnn_latest

| access-date =August 7, 2009 }}{{Cite book|last=Associated Press |title=Shootouts between police, gunmen in central Mexico leave at least a dozen dead |date=August 7, 2009 |url=http://www.startribune.com/world/52646287.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBcy7hUiacyKUUr |publisher=Star Tribune |access-date=August 7, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813084707/http://www.startribune.com/world/52646287.html?elr=KArks%3ADCiUBcy7hUiacyKUUr |archive-date=August 13, 2009 }}{{Cite book|last=Associated Press |title=Shootouts in Mexico leave at least 11 dead |date=August 7, 2009 |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g1kxKdVNumtUaRoAZB_xf1XzxDfgD99U3JB80 |access-date=August 7, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813145049/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g1kxKdVNumtUaRoAZB_xf1XzxDfgD99U3JB80 |archive-date=August 13, 2009 }}

August 9 – Mexican police defuse an attempt to kill President Felipe Calderón by the Sinaloa Cartel.{{cite news | title=Drug cartel planned to kill Mexican President Calderon | date=August 10, 2009 | publisher=Momento 24 | url =http://momento24.com/en/2009/08/10/drug-cartel-planned-to-kill-mexican-president-calderon/ | access-date =March 1, 2010 | language = es }}
August 20 – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) disarticulate a large Mexican drug operation in Chicago, knocking out a major distribution network operating out of the city. The drug operation allegedly brought 1.5 to 2 tons of cocaine every month to Chicago from Mexico, and shipped millions of dollars south of the border.{{cite news|url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1726596,significant-drug-conspiracy-busted-chicago-082009.article |work=Chicago Sun-Times |url-status=dead |title=Chicago – Chicago : News : Politics : Things To Do : Sports |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826092507/http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1726596%2Csignificant-drug-conspiracy-busted-chicago-082009.article |archive-date=August 26, 2009 }}{{cite web|url=http://chicago.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/cg082009.htm |title=Federal Bureau of Investigation – The Chicago Division: Department of Justice Press Release |publisher=Chicago.fbi.gov |date=August 20, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129064526/http://chicago.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/cg082009.htm |archive-date=November 29, 2010 }}
September 3 – Gunmen attack a drug clinic in Ciudad Juárez, lining up patients against a wall and killing at least 17.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8235101.stm |work=BBC News | title=Gunmen target Mexico rehab centre | date=September 3, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}} José Rodolfo Escajeda of the Juárez cartel is arrested several days later.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8240213.stm |work=BBC News | title=Arrest over Mexican drug murders | date=September 6, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
September 16 – Ten people are killed in another gun attack on a drug rehabilitation clinic in Ciudad Juárez.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8259972.stm |work=BBC News | title=Gunmen kill 10 at Mexico clinic | date=September 16, 2009 | access-date=April 1, 2010}}
November 3 – Los Zetas founder Braulio Arellano Domínguez is killed by the Mexican Navy in the state of Veracruz.{{cite news|title=Matan a otro fundador de zetas|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/impreso/8667853|access-date=25 February 2013|newspaper=Milenio|date=4 November 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717081105/http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/impreso/8667853|archive-date=July 17, 2013|url-status=dead|language=es|df=mdy-all}}
December 15 – As part of the Mérida Initiative, the Mexican Air Force receives five Bell 412 helicopters worth $66 million from the United States to use for transport and reconnaissance missions for Mexico's drug war.{{cite news | first=Eduardo | last=Castillo | title=US gives Mexico 5 helicopters to aid drug war | newspaper=El Paso Times | url =http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_14003120?source=rss | agency =Associated Press | access-date =December 20, 2009 }} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}
December 16 – A two-hour shootout between 200 Mexican Marines and Beltrán-Leyva Cartel gunmen leads to the death of Marcos Arturo Beltrán-Leyva, the leader of the criminal organization, in an upscale resort in Cuernavaca. Four of his bodyguards are also killed, one of whom commits suicide while surrounded by the Marines. Two marines are also injured while another, Navy 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Córdova, dies while being treated for his injuries.{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/12/17/mexico.cartel/index.html | work=CNN | title=Mexico: Top drug cartel leader killed | access-date=April 1, 2010 | date=December 17, 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.semar.gob.mx/sitio/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1200&Itemid=201 |title=Secretaria de Marina-Armada de Mexico – Comunicado de Prensa 325/2009 |publisher=Semar.gob.mx }}{{Cite news |title=Mexico: Top drug cartel leader killed |publisher=CNN |date=December 17, 2009 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/12/17/mexico.cartel/index.html |access-date=2009-12-23 |location=Mexico City}}
December 22 – Only hours after the burial of 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Córdova, gunmen break into his family's house and kill his mother and three other relatives. The shooting is believed to be retaliation for the death of Marcos Arturo Beltrán-Leyva, as well as a warning against the military forces.{{Cite news |last=Malkin |first=Elisabeth |title=Revenge in Drug War Chills Mexico |work=The New York Times |date=December 22, 2009 |location=Mexico City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/world/americas/23mexico.html?_r=1&hp |access-date=December 23, 2009}}{{Cite news|title=Mexico: Asesinan a familia de marino que enfrente a narco |work=Houston Chronicle |date=December 22, 2009 |url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sp/nws/6783417.html |access-date=December 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309160824/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sp/nws/6783417.html |archive-date=March 9, 2010 }}

For 2009, the drug-related death toll reached 7,724.{{cite news|title=Aumenta nivel de violencia del narco|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/648979.html|newspaper=El Universal|date=January 1, 2010|access-date=August 6, 2011|archive-date=August 31, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140831045227/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/648979.html|url-status=dead}}

2010-2020

=2010=

January 2 – Carlos Beltrán Leyva, brother of Marcos Arturo Beltrán-Leyva, is arrested by Federal Police officers in Culiacán, Sinaloa.{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/34194.html |title=La PF detiene en Culiacán a hermano del "Jefe de Jefes" – El Universal – Primera |publisher=Eluniversal.com.mx |date=January 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018210127/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/34194.html |archive-date=October 18, 2012 }}{{cite web|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100103/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico|title=Mexico nabs 3rd brother in reputed drug family – Yahoo! News|date=January 5, 2010|access-date=April 9, 2018|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105033714/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100103/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico|archive-date=January 5, 2010|df=mdy-all}}
January 8 – Due to high crime rates in the municipality of Tancítaro, Michoacán, the Municipal Police force is disbanded. City officials leave the Army and State Police in charge of public security.{{cite web|url=http://www.milenio.com/node/356006|archive-url=https://archive.today/20100110220912/http://www.milenio.com/node/356006|url-status=dead|title=Despiden a policías municipales en Tancítaro, Michoacán - Milenio.com|date=January 10, 2010|archive-date=January 10, 2010|website=Archive.is|access-date=August 12, 2017}}
January 12 – Federal Police agents arrest a partner of the Tijuana Cartel, Teodoro "El Teo" García Simental in La Paz, Baja California Sur.
January 28 – Ernesto Coronel Peña, Juan Jaime Coronel, Juan Ernesto Coronel Herrera, and Gael Carbel Aldana, several members of the Coronel clan are arrested.{{cite web|url= http://riodoce.mx/content/view/16433/42/|title= Se acaba la dinastía de Canelas|publisher= Ríodoce|date= January 28, 2010|access-date= October 2, 2014|archive-url= https://archive.today/20130219040819/http://riodoce.mx/content/view/16433/42/|archive-date= February 19, 2013|url-status= dead}}
January 31 – Sixteen teenagers with no criminal ties are gunned down at a party in Ciudad Juárez.{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/01/mexico.juarez.shooting/index.html | work=CNN | title=Death toll at 16 in Juarez party shooting | access-date=April 1, 2010 | date=February 2, 2010}}
February 1 – In Torreón, Coahuila, a group of gunmen open fire at three different bars throughout the city, killing 10 and injuring over 40 people.{{cite news|title=Tres balaceras en bares de Torreón, hay 10 muertos|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/656481a84786e736e71b1fbe23f85353|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|date=February 1, 2010}}
February 24 – Los Zetas engage in a violent turf war against is former employer/partner, the Gulf Cartel, in the northern border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas,{{cite news | title=Drug Wars in Tamaulipas: Cartels vs. Zetas vs. the Military | date=March 1, 2010 | publisher=MexiData | url=http://www.mexidata.info/id2570.html | work=Center for Latin American and Border Studies | access-date=March 4, 2010 | archive-date=April 14, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414012117/http://www.mexidata.info/id2570.html | url-status=dead }}{{cite news | author=Jaime Hernández | title=EU: alarma guerra "Zetas"-El Golfo | date=March 4, 2010 | newspaper=El Universal | url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/176052.html | access-date=March 4, 2010 | language=es | archive-date=October 8, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008091829/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/176052.html | url-status=dead }} rendering some border towns to "ghost towns".[http://www.eluniversaltv.com.mx/detalle17558.html Video: Narco deja pueblos fantasma en Tamaulipas] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720234222/http://www.eluniversaltv.com.mx/detalle17558.html |date=July 20, 2010 }} (March 4, 2010).
March 5 – The Red Cross in Mexico no longer treats gunshot victims after finding themselves caught in cross fire.{{cite news | title=Red Cross is latest victim of Mexican drug war | date=March 5, 2010 | url =https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iyQGDYO9NRi3sNHqv9SUT97IlPAAD9E8KO080 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100309033232/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iyQGDYO9NRi3sNHqv9SUT97IlPAAD9E8KO080 | url-status =dead | archive-date =March 9, 2010 | agency =Associated Press | access-date =March 6, 2010 }}{{cite news | title=Cartel Violence: Red Cross in Mexico no longer treating gunshot victims | date=March 5, 2010 | publisher=Pro8News | url =http://www.pro8news.com/news/local/86699032.html | access-date =March 6, 2010 }}
March 14 – Three people associated with U.S. consulate are killed in Chihuahua in two drive-by shootings. Two of their children are injured.{{cite news | author1=Mariano Castillo |author2=Jamie Crawford | title=3 people associated with U.S. consulate killed in Mexico | date=March 15, 2010 | url =http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/14/mexico.violence/index.html | work =CNN News | access-date =March 15, 2010 }} Presidents Obama and Calderón condemn the attack.
March 19 – Two graduate students from the ITESM in Monterrey are mistakenly killed by soldiers at the university's entrance during a gun battle against drug traffickers. Both students had engineering scholarships for academic excellence.{{cite news | title=Mexico: Bystanders, not gunmen, killed in shootout | date=March 21, 2010 |newspaper=The Washington Post | url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/21/AR2010032102988.html | agency =Associated Press | access-date =March 22, 2010 | first=Mark | last=Walsh}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
March 23 – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano visit Mexico and pledge increased support in the fight against drug cartels.{{cite news | title=Clinton pledges broader US effort on Mexico drugs gangs | date=March 24, 2010 |work=BBC News | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8582497.stm | access-date =March 24, 2010 }}
March 30 – Cartel gunmen launch seven coordinated assaults against government forces by setting up roadblocks near Army garrisons, firing on checkpoints and ambushing patrols. Among the weapons used are armored vehicles, explosive devices and grenade launchers. The attacks are neutralized by Mexican troops. Mexican forces kill 18 cartel gunmen and seize more than 50 assault rifles, 61 grenades, 8 homemade explosive devices, numerous grenade launchers and 6 armored vehicles. Army casualties are limited to one soldier with an injured toe.{{cite news | title = Drug cartels target Mexican army in brazen attacks | date=April 2, 2010 | agency=Associated Press | url=https://www.cleveland.com/world/2010/04/drug_cartels_target_mexican_ar.html | access-date =March 4, 2021}}
April 1 – Cartel gunmen initiate road blocks in Reynosa, and a single cartel member is killed in a shootout with Mexican soldiers. In Tampico, cartel gunmen ambush a state police checkpoint, killing one officer and wounding one officer, as well as a bystander.[http://www.nguoi-viet.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=110799&z=5 Mexico: 18 người chết trong các cuộc tấn công chính phủ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406122547/http://www.nguoi-viet.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=110799&z=5 |date=April 6, 2010 }} {{in lang|vi}}
April 23 – In San Dimas, Durango, troops clash with gunmen. Six gunmen are killed and one is captured. The army reports that only one of their own was injured.{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/675229.html |title=Mueren siete en enfrentamiento en Durango – El Universal – Los Estados |newspaper=El Universal |access-date=July 10, 2010}}
May 15 – In Torreón, a group of gunmen open fire during the inauguration of 'Bar Las Juanas,' killing 8 and injuring 19 people.{{cite news|title=Tiroteo en bar deja 8 muertos y 19 heridos en Torreón|url=http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/tiroteoenbardeja6muertosy15heridosentorreon-499314.html|newspaper=La Vanguardia|date=15 May 2010|access-date=August 10, 2011|archive-date=March 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319050857/http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/tiroteoenbardeja6muertosy15heridosentorreon-499314.html|url-status=dead}}
May 31 – A mass grave containing 55 bodies is found in an abandoned mine near Taxco, Guerrero.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/latin_america/10197425.stm |title=Up to 25 bodies found in abandoned mine in Mexico |work=BBC News |date=May 31, 2010 |access-date=July 10, 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/latin_america/10260789.stm |title=Mexico mass grave in abandoned mine has 55 bodies |work=BBC News |date=June 7, 2010 |access-date=July 10, 2010}}
June 2 – In Tubutama, Sonora, right across the U.S. border from New Mexico, a gunfight between rival drug cartels leaves 21 people dead.{{cite news|title=Fotos de la balacera en Sonora: 21 muertos|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2010/07/fotos-de-la-balacera-en-sonora-tubutama.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=16 July 2010}}
June 9 – Leader of the Los Zetas division in the state of Nuevo León, Raúl Héctor Luna, is arrested in Monterrey.{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/76345.html |title=Captura de capo en NL desata narcobloqueos |newspaper=El Universal |date=June 10, 2010 |access-date=June 25, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/7c954b2a681dd8c89db2c26caf213564 |title=Exigen liberar a zeta con 28 narcobloqueos |work=Milenio |date=June 10, 2010 |access-date=June 25, 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/06/10/index.php?section=politica&article=007n1pol |title=Desquician 28 narcobloqueos la zona metropolitana de Monterrey |newspaper=La Jornada |date=June 10, 2010 |access-date=June 25, 2011}}
June 10 – 2010 Chihuahua shootings: 40 people are killed and at least 4 others are wounded in an attack by at least 30 gunmen in Chihuahua. The attack occurs at multiple places within the city, including a rehabilitation center where 19 of the victims die.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/latin_america/10296352.stm |title=Many dead as gunmen target Mexico cities |work=BBC News |date=June 11, 2010 |access-date=July 10, 2010}}
June 14 – In Michoacán, 12 Federal Police officers are killed and 13 wounded, several cartel gunmen are killed as well. A separate attack takes place in Ciudad Juárez, resulting in 3 gunmen dead and 2 Mexican soldiers wounded.https://news.yahoo.com/s/20100615/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/It_drug_war_mexico {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
June 15 – Army soldiers kill 15 gunmen and confiscate twenty guns and two homemade explosives during a 40-minute shootout on the outskirts of Taxco.https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/201000615/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/It_drug_war_mexico {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
June 26 – Banda Singer Sergio Vega, also known as "El Shaka", is murdered outside the city of Los Mochis in the state of Sinaloa.
June 27 – Gunmen kill nine people at a drug rehabilitation clinic in Gómez Palacio, Durango.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/latin_america/10427944.stm|title=Mexico drug clinic shooting leaves nine dead|publisher=BBC | date=June 27, 2010}}
July 15 – La Línea, the Juárez Cartel's armed wing, uses a car bomb for the first time, setting a deadly trap against federal police in the city of Ciudad Juárez; the car bomb kills three police officers.[https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100716/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico Car bomb signals new dimension to Mexican drug war] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718232424/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100716/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico |date=July 18, 2010 }}
July 18 – Gunmen in five SUVs drive up to a party on the outskirts of Torreón, Coahuila, and open fire killing 17 party-goers.{{cite news| url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-50218620100719 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714214709/http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-50218620100719 | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 14, 2012 | work=Reuters | title=FACTBOX – Worst attacks in Mexico's drug war | date=July 19, 2010}}{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/world/americas/19mexico.html | work=The New York Times | title=Drug Gang Suspected in Mexico Party Massacre | first=Elisabeth | last=Malkin | date=July 18, 2010}}
July 25 – In state of Nuevo Leon, 70 corpses are exhumed from clandestine mass graves. Also, the municipality of Benito Juárez counts with 51 of the total 70.{{cite news|last=Cedillo|first=Juan|title=Suman 70 cadáveres en narcofosas de NL|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/697602.html|newspaper=El Universal|date=July 25, 2010}}
July 29 – Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, one of the three leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel is killed in a shootout with the Army in Zapopan, Jalisco.{{cite news | title = Mexican drug lord killed in raid, officials say | date = July 29, 2010 | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/29/mexico.cartel.leader.killed/?hpt=T2#fbid=9jirxTl1jL5 | work = CNN | access-date =July 30, 2010}}{{cite news | title = Top drug lord Ignacio Coronel killed in shootout with Mexican army | date = July 29, 2010 | url = http://bnonews.com/urgent/5554/top-drug-lord-ignacio-coronel-killed-in-shootout-with-mexican-army/ | work = BNO News | access-date = July 30, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110621234345/http://bnonews.com/urgent/5554/top-drug-lord-ignacio-coronel-killed-in-shootout-with-mexican-army/ | archive-date = June 21, 2011 | df = mdy-all }} One soldier is also killed and another wounded during the shootout.
July 30 – On the heavy trafficked highway Matamoros-Ciudad Victoria, just outside San Fernando, Tamaulipas, 15 dead bodies from Los Zetas are left for display by the Gulf Cartel on the middle of the road.{{cite news|title=Dejan 15 cuerpos en carretera Tamaulipas|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2010/07/dejan-15-cuerpos-en-carretera-de.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=July 30, 2011}}{{cite web|title=Imagenes exclusivas: Ejecutados carretera San Fernando-Matamoros|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWs9--K965M|publisher=Youtube|access-date=July 31, 2010}}
August 22 – Four decapitated and mutilated bodies are discovered hanging by their ankles from a bridge in Cuernavaca in the southern state of Morelos. Héctor Beltrán Leyva takes responsibility for the killings in a message left with the bodies, which reads: "This is what will happen to all those who support the traitor Edgar Valdez Villarreal".{{cite news|title=Four decapitated and mutilated bodies were discovered hanging by their ankles from a bridge in Cuernavaca in the southern Mexican state of Morelos |date=August 22, 2010 |url=http://hoodhollywood.com/blog/2010/08/24/4-dead-bodies-hung-from-bridge-in-mexico-by-drug-gang-pics/ |work=Hoodhollywood |access-date=August 24, 2010 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news | title = Bodies hung from bridge in Cuernavaca, Mexico | date = August 22, 2010 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11054730 |work=BBC News | access-date =August 25, 2010}}
August 24 – Tamaulipas massacre: Following a gunfight in the state of Tamaulipas between gunmen alleged to be drug traffickers, in which three gunmen and a marine are killed, 72 bodies are recovered from a remote ranch in the state of Tamaulipas.{{cite news|title=72 bodies found on ranch in Mexico|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0825/mexico.html|access-date=August 26, 2010|newspaper=RTÉ News|date=August 25, 2010}} It was "the biggest single discovery of its kind" in the ongoing drug war.{{cite news|title=Drug hitmen dump 72 bodies at Mexican ranch|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67O2NF20100826|access-date=August 26, 2010|work=Reuters|date=August 25, 2010|author=Robin Emmott|author2=Patrick Rucker|author3=Miguel Angel Gutierrez}} The 58 men and 14 women were believed to be undocumented migrants from South and Central America trying to cross the border to the United States.{{cite news|title=Murdered bodies found in Mexico 'were migrants'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11090563|access-date=August 26, 2010|newspaper=BBC News|date=August 25, 2010}} A surviving migrant claimed that the migrants were kidnapped by the Los Zetas cartel and killed for refusing to do work for them.{{cite news|title=Survivor: Drug gang massacred 72 migrants in northern Mexico|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/25/AR2010082506776.html|access-date=August 26, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 25, 2010|author=William Booth}} Twenty one rifles, 101 ammunition clips, four bullet-proof vests, camouflage uniforms and four vehicles are seized by officials.{{cite news|title=72 bodies found in Mexico ranch |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/72-bodies-found-in-Mexico-ranch/Article1-591920.aspx |access-date=August 26, 2010 |newspaper=Hindustan Times |date=August 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828150704/http://www.hindustantimes.com/72-bodies-found-in-Mexico-ranch/Article1-591920.aspx |archive-date=August 28, 2010 }} The bodies were found in a room, some of which were piled up on top of each other.
August 30 – Authorities capture Edgar "La Barbie" Valdez Villarreal, a U.S.-born trafficker who was fighting to lead the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel based in central Mexico.{{cite news | title = Mexican officials arrested Edgar Valdez Villarreal – known as 'La Barbie' – an alleged senior leader in a drug trafficking cartel. That's good news for President Calderón, but there's skepticism it will make a dent in growing drug violence. | date = August 30, 2010 | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN30206049 | work = Reuters | access-date =August 30, 2010}}{{cite news | title = In Mexico, skepticism that arrest of Edgar Valdez Villarreal – 'La Barbie' – will stem drug trade | date = August 30, 2010 | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/0831/In-Mexico-skepticism-that-arrest-of-Edgar-Valdez-Villarreal-La-Barbie-will-stem-drug-trade | work = The Christian Science Monitor | access-date =August 30, 2010}}
September 2 – Twenty seven suspected drug cartel gunmen are shot dead in clashes near the U.S. border in the state of Tamaulipas; the bodies were found on a property believed to be owned by Los Zetas.{{cite news | title = Mexico clash 'leaves 27 drug cartel gunmen dead' | date = September 3, 2010 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11173279 |work=BBC News | access-date =September 3, 2010}}
September 8 – The mayor of El Naranjo, San Luis Potosí, Alexander López García, is killed in his office by a group of gunmen.{{cite news|title=Asesinan a alcalde de El Naranjo, SLP|url=http://www2.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/mexico/estados/202500/asesinan-alcalde-el-naranjo-slp|newspaper=Esmas Noticias|date=Sep 8, 2010|access-date=September 24, 2011|archive-date=November 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114185940/http://www2.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/mexico/estados/202500/asesinan-alcalde-el-naranjo-slp|url-status=dead}}
September 9 – Gunmen kill 25 people in a series of drug-related attacks in Ciudad Juárez, marking the deadliest day in more than two years for the Mexican border city.{{cite web|url=http://www.newser.com/story/100314/25-slain-in-mexico-85-inmates-escape.html |title=25 Slain in Mexico; 85 Inmates Escape – Ciudad Juarez's deadliest day, biggest jail break in years |date=September 11, 2010 |publisher=Newser.com }} Two graffiti messages appear in Ciudad Juárez threatening the Sinaloa Cartel drug lord Joaquin Guzman. One message reads: "You are killing our sons. You already did, and now we are going to kill your families."{{cite web |url=http://www.thisis50.com/profiles/blogs/madness-85-inmates-escape-from |title=Madness: 85 Inmates Escape From Prison In Mexico Near Texas Border. 25 People Murdered In Juarez (Video) |publisher=ThisIs50.com |date=September 12, 2010 |access-date=September 13, 2010 |archive-date=September 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915033527/http://www.thisis50.com/profiles/blogs/madness-85-inmates-escape-from |url-status=dead }}
September 10 – In the border city of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas, 85 inmates – 66 of whom were convicted or on trial for federal charges like weapons possession or drugs – scale the Reynosa prison's 20-foot (6-meter) walls using ladders. Forty-four prison guards and employees were under investigation. Two were missing. A total of 201 inmates had escaped from prisons in the state of Tamaulipas since the start of the year.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/world/americas/12Mexico.html | work=The New York Times | title=85 Inmates Escape Mexican Prison Near Texas | date=September 11, 2010}}
September 12 – Mexican marines arrest Sergio Villarreal Barragán, a lieutenant of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.{{cite news | url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-12/world/mexico.arrest_1_beltran-leyva-mexican-marines-cartel?_s=PM:WORLD | work=CNN | title=Police: American-born drug kingpin arrested in Mexico | date=August 30, 2010 | access-date=July 5, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125014509/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-12/world/mexico.arrest_1_beltran-leyva-mexican-marines-cartel?_s=PM:WORLD | archive-date=November 25, 2010 | url-status=dead }}
September 16 – In Matamoros, Tamaulipas, over 25 people are killed after a confrontation between the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, and elements of the Mexican Navy, during the eve celebration of Independence Day.{{cite news|date=Sep 16, 2010|title=Matamoros tiroteos dejan decenas de muertos|newspaper=Noticias Mexico|url=http://noticias-mexico.com/crimen-narco/matamoros-tiroteos-dejan-decenas-de-muertos-2.html}}{{cite news|title=25 Dead after Gun Battle in Matamoros|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYvoU1aM3VU|newspaper=KRGV News|date=Sep 16, 2010}}
October 18 – Mexican authorities seize 105 tons of marijuana bound for the U.S., representing the biggest bust in the history of the state of Baja California. Soldiers and police seize the drugs in pre-dawn raids in three neighborhoods. The marijuana is found wrapped in 10,000 packages, with an estimated street value in Mexico of 4.2 billion pesos, or about $338 million.{{cite news| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-19/tijuana-marijuana-bust-is-biggest-in-baja-california-s-history-mayor-says.html | work=Bloomberg | first=Jonathan J. | last=Levin | date=October 19, 2010 | title=Tijuana Marijuana Bust Is Biggest in Baja California's History, Mayor Says}}{{cite web|last=Chappell |first=Bill |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/10/18/130660868/mexican-police-find-pot-worth-340-million-in-tijuana-raids |title=Mexican Police Seize Pot Worth $340 Million In Tijuana Raids : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=October 19, 2010 }}
October 22 – Gunmen kill 14 people at a boy's birthday party in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/world/americas/25mexico.html|title=14 Dead in Attack at Party in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico|first=Elisabeth|last=Malkin|date=October 24, 2010|access-date=August 12, 2017|website=The New York Times}}
October 24 – Gunmen in Tijuana kill 13 people at a drug rehab clinic.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11617353 |title=Mexico gunmen kill 13 at Tijuana drugs clinic |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=October 25, 2010 }}
October 27 – Gunmen kill 15 people at a car wash in Tepic, Nayarit.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11639980 |title=Mexico car wash shooting leaves 15 dead |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=October 27, 2010 }}
November 4 – In Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas, 8 beheaded corpses are found on the trunk of a pickup truck. On top of the corpses, a poster reads the following: “This happens for supporting Los Zetas. Here are all your halcones (informants). Sincerely, the Gulf Cartel."{{cite news|title=Fotos de ocho decapitados en Cd. Mante, Tamaulipas|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2010/11/fotos-de-ocho-ejecutados-en-cd-mante.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=4 November 2010}}
November 5 – Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillen, co-leader of the Gulf Cartel, is shot and killed during a gun battle against Mexican authorities, along with more than 50 of his gunmen,{{cite news|title=En una balacera, muere "Tony Tormenta" |url=http://america.infobae.com/notas/13214-En-una-balacera-muere-Tony-Tormenta |newspaper=EFE, Milenio, Reforma, La Jornada |date=2005-11-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326141939/http://america.infobae.com/notas/13214-En-una-balacera-muere-Tony-Tormenta |archive-date=March 26, 2012 }}{{cite news|title=Dozens killed in Matamoros; Tony Tormenta dead|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/11/dozens-killed-in-matamoros-bridges.html|newspaper=Borderland Beat|date=November 5, 2010}} in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/06/mexico.violence/?hpt=T2 | work=CNN | title=Gunmen, forces clash after car tel leader killed | date=November 7, 2010}} Although not confirmed, some local sources claim over 100 people were killed in Matamoros that day{{cite news|title=Shootings in Matamoros Kill "Tony Tormenta" and Nearly 100 People|url=http://www.kveo.com/news/shootings-in-matamoros-kill-tony-tormenta-and-nearly-100-people|newspaper=KVEO News Center|date=November 8, 2010|access-date=September 9, 2011|archive-date=March 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321054220/http://www.kveo.com/news/shootings-in-matamoros-kill-tony-tormenta-and-nearly-100-people|url-status=dead}}
November 9 – Customs authorities at the International Airport of Mexico City seize 113 kilos of cocaine and two thousand bottles of pills with Risperidone.
November 9 – Mayor Gregorio Barradas Miravete is found executed with a note left on him that read: "This is going to happen to all those who continue to support Los Zetas."
November 22 – In the rural outsides of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, drug cartel gunmen threaten a 77-year-old local entrepreneur, Don Alejo Garza Támez, to give away all his property.{{cite news|title=Don Alejo Garza Támez: Defendio su rancho del narco hasta la muerte|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2010/11/don-alejo-garza-tamez-defendio-su.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=November 22, 2010}} According to the report, they gave Don Alejo one day to leave his ranch before the gunmen arrived. If not, they threatened to kill him. Instead, Don Alejo made a fortress in his own ranch; setting up traps, and placing rifles on every house window, waiting for the arrival of the gunmen all by himself.{{cite news|title=El rancho que Don Alejo Garza Tamez defendió hasta la muerte|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOBYKs2_3_A&feature=relmfu|newspaper=TV Milenio|date=November 22, 2010}} When the gunmen arrived, Don Alejo shot and killed 4 of them, and gravely injured 2.{{cite news|title=Don Alejo Garza Tamez defendió su rancho del narco hasta la muerte|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGsQJt94qVc&feature=channel_video_title|newspaper=TV Milenio|date=November 22, 2010}} Nevertheless, Don Alejo was killed, too, but he was commemorated for his heroic act.{{cite news|title=Admiración para Don Alejo, pero mesura sobretodo|url=http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8871047|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|date=November 25, 2010|access-date=August 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104165342/http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8871047|archive-date=November 4, 2011|url-status=dead}}
December 3 – In Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexican authorities capture Edgar Jiménez Lugo, alias "El Ponchis," a 14-year-old hitman from the South Pacific Cartel.{{cite news|title=In Teenage Killers, Mexico Confronts a Bloody Future|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2035819,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101211034842/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2035819,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 11, 2010|newspaper=TIME World|date=Dec 8, 2010}} He is the youngest sicario that there is register of in Mexico;{{cite news|title=Detenido alias 'El Ponchis', el sicario mexicano más joven|url=http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-8511783.html|newspaper=Noticias El Tiempo|date=December 3, 2010}} "El Ponchis" was well known for carrying out over 300 violent executions, most of them by mutilation, torture, and decapitation.{{cite news|last=Monroy|first=David|title=Detiene militares a "El Ponchis", el niño sicario|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/75b72844da8089d57a31be8af1678260|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|date=December 3, 2010}}
December 9 – Mexican authorities report that Nazario Moreno González, leader of La Familia Michoacana had been killed in a shootout with the federal police. However, it is later speculated that the drug lord is still alive, and on March 9, 2014, the Mexican government claims to have finally killed him in Michoacan.{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/03/09/mexico-cartel-leader-knights-templar/6238517/ | work=USA Today | first1=William M. | last1=Welch | title=Mexican drug lord's death claimed a second time | date=March 9, 2014}}
December 18 – In Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, 151 inmates escape a federal prison—58 of them high-profile criminals—and investigations mention that the convicts left through the front door, implying that the director allowed them to escape.{{cite news|title=Se fugan 151 presos de penal de Nuevo Laredo|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/1b6bcde8bf538d981ccb8ca58c19614d|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|date=December 18, 2010}}
December 19 – 2010 Puebla oil pipeline explosion: In the state of Puebla, a pipeline owned by PEMEX company explodes after thieves from Los Zetas attempt to siphon off the oil.{{cite news|last=Argen|first=David|title=Oil: The Mexican cartels' other deadly business|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/oil-the-mexican-cartels-other-deadly-business/article1845378/|access-date=December 22, 2010|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=December 21, 2010|location=Toronto}} The explosion kills 28 people, injures 52, and damages over 115 homes.{{cite news|title=Thieves blamed in Mexico pipeline blast that kills 28 |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013720317_pipeline20.html |newspaper=Seattle Times |date=December 19, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622095021/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013720317_pipeline20.html |archive-date=June 22, 2011 }}
December 28 – Around 60 gunmen storm the small, indigenous town of Tierras Coloradas, Durango.{{cite news|title=Auxilian a indigenas por ataque|url=http://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/590778.html|newspaper=El Siglo de Torreón|date=January 13, 2011}} The gunmen burn all the houses (40), cars (27), and an elementary school; over 200 natives are forced to flee the area, others are killed.{{cite news|title=Arrasan 60 pistoleros la comunidad indígena Tierras Coloradas, en Durango|url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/01/13/index.php?section=politica&article=009n1pol|newspaper=La Jornada|date=January 18, 2011}}

For 2010, the drug-related deaths reached 15,273.{{cite news|title=Más de 15.000 personas murieron en México en 2010 a causa del 'narco'|url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/15000/personas/murieron/Mexico/2010/causa/narco/elpepuint/20110112elpepuint_20/Tes|newspaper=El País|date=December 1, 2011}}

=2011=

January 8 – 28 bodies were discovered in Acapulco, including the decapitated bodies of 15 young men, with the heads scattered around them, which were found outside the Plaza Sendero shopping center. Media reports say that three messages signed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa cartel, were found alongside the bodies. The other bodies include 6 found in a taxi behind a supermarket, 4 riddled with bullets in two residential neighborhoods and 3 others in other locations.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/01/08/mexico.bodies.found/index.html?npt=NP1|work=CNN|title=15 headless bodies found in Acapulco | date=January 8, 2011}}
February 16 – In San Luis Potosí, the American ICE agent Jaime Zapata was ambushed, shot, and killed on a highway during his trajectory to Mexico City by a group of gunmen,{{cite news|title=Drug gang shot U.S. agents, Mexican governor says|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna41621249|newspaper=NBC News|date=Feb 16, 2011}} later confirmed to be Los Zetas.{{cite news|title=Presentan a Zetas asesinos del agente norteamericano Jaime Zapata|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP_8wRu89qc|newspaper=MultiMedios TV (Monterrey)|date=February 23, 2011}} The second agent, Victor Avila, was wounded, and is now in the United States.{{cite news|last=Leibowitz|first=Barry|title=Jaime Zapata, U.S. Immigration Agent, Shot Dead in Mexico in Apparent Ambush|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jaime-zapata-us-immigration-agent-shot-dead-in-mexico-in-apparent-ambush/|newspaper=CBS News|date=Feb 16, 2011}} The gunmen involved in the shooting have been apprehended.{{cite news|title=Cayó 'El Mamito' jefe de Los Zetas, vinculado a crimen del agente Zapata|url=http://noticias.univision.com/narcotrafico/noticias/article/2011-07-04/el-mamito-jefe-zeta-muerte-agente-zapata|newspaper=Univisión|date=April 7, 2011}}
February 27 – Sergio Mora Cortes, aka "El Toto," is captured by Mexican Marines in Saltillo, Coahuila. Mora Cortes was a leader of Los Zetas in the state of San Luis Potosí, and he was wanted for the murder of the American ICE agent Jaime Zapata and for the murder of a Nuevo Laredo police chief.{{cite news|last=Castillo|first=Mariano|title=Mexico targets cell accused of agent's killing|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-28/world/mexico.agent_1_cartel-member-zetas-mexican-authorities?_s=PM:WORLD|newspaper=CNN|date=February 28, 2011|access-date=September 24, 2011|archive-date=March 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303074214/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-28/world/mexico.agent_1_cartel-member-zetas-mexican-authorities?_s=PM:WORLD|url-status=dead}}
February 28 – 7 bodies found hanging from bridges in Mazatlán, Sinaloa. Messages left with the corpses alleged that the dead were members of the South Pacific Cartel.{{cite web|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/02/cuelgan-siete-hombres-en-mazatlan.html|title=Cuelgan a siete hombres en Mazatlán, Sinaloa|date=March 3, 2011|website=Blogdelnarco.com|access-date=April 9, 2018|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303122942/http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/02/cuelgan-siete-hombres-en-mazatlan.html|archive-date=March 3, 2011|df=mdy-all}}
March 1 – A mass grave with over 20 bodies was uncovered in San Miguel Totolapan, Guerrero.{{cite news|title=Hallan nuevas narcofosas en el estado de Guerrero|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/03/hallan-nuevas-narcofosas-en-el-estado.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=March 1, 2011}} Other sources, however, mention that more than 70 bodies were exhumed.{{cite news|title=Hallan narcofosas en el estado de Guerrero|url=http://www.lapoliciaca.com/nota-roja/hallan-nuevas-narcofosas-en-el-estado-de-guerrero/|newspaper=La Policiaca|date=2 Mar 2011|access-date=September 24, 2011|archive-date=March 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325154122/http://www.lapoliciaca.com/nota-roja/hallan-nuevas-narcofosas-en-el-estado-de-guerrero/|url-status=dead}}
March 2 – A three-day shooting was registered between the Mexican Marines and Los Zetas in the city of Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas.{{cite news|title=Balaceras en Valle Hermoso Tamaulipas; Tres días de tiroteos|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axoKxy23-ww|newspaper=Sala de Prensa del Gobierno Federal|date=Mar 2, 2011}} During these three days, all local businesses and schools closed; a convoy of 50 SUV's from Los Zetas was seen in the rural highway outside the city.{{cite news|title=Tres días seguidos de balacera en Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/03/tres-dias-seguidos-de-balaceras-en.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=March 2, 2011}}
March 8–18 killed in gunfights in Abasolo, Tamaulipas. Most of the dead are believed to be operators for the warring Zetas and the Gulf Cartel. Mexican troops were deployed to restore order.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12672906 |work=BBC News | title=Mexico shootout leaves 18 dead in Tamaulipas state | date=March 8, 2011}}
March 10 – Jorge Hernández Espinoza, the Director of Public Security for Santiago Tangamandapio, Michoacán, was found dead in his vehicle with a single shot to his head and three shots to his chest.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}
March 29 – Police found the bodies of 6 men and 1 woman inside a car abandoned in an exclusive gated community near Cuernavaca.{{cite news|title=Hallan siete cuerpos en un vehículo en Morelos|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/79960.html|newspaper=El Universal|date=March 29, 2011}}
April 2 – In Ciudad Juarez, a group of gunmen attacked two bars with fire bombs and shootings in less than forty-eight hours, killing over 15 people.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gunmen_attack_mexican_border_bar_with_bullets_and_fire_bombs_killing_5_people_inside/2011/04/02/AFRlJJPC_story.html?tid=obinsite|title=Gunmen attack Mexican border bar with bullets and fire bombs, killing 5 people inside|access-date=April 11, 2011 | newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
April 4 – A clash between the police and drug cartel gunmen left 7 dead and 6 people injured in Acapulco, Guerrero. In addition, a whole shopping center was burned down by the gunmen, and a dozen of the stores were left in ruins.{{cite news|title=La violencia en Acapulco deja 7 muertos, 6 heridos y centros comerciales incendiados|url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/04/05/opinion/011n1pol|newspaper=La Jornada|date=April 5, 2011}}
April 26 – 2011 San Fernando massacre: In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, after exhuming more than 40 mass graves, the final body count reached 193 corpses.{{cite news|title=Hallan 7 nuevas narcofosas en San Fernando Tamaulipas suman 193 cadáveres|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVt2RRlRmEE|newspaper=Milenio TV|date=Jun 7, 2011}} Although not confirmed, some newspapers mention that the body count surpassed 500, but that the state government of Tamaulipas supposedly censored and prevented such publications.{{cite news|title=En San Fernando hay fosas con 500 muertos más: Wallace|url=http://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/654174.en-san-fernando-hay-fosas-con-500-muertos-mas.html|newspaper=El Siglo de Torreón|date=June 22, 2011}}{{cite news|title=En San Fernando hay fosas con 500 muertos más: Miranda de Wallace|url=http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&id_nota=762879|newspaper=Excelsior|date=22 August 2011}}
May 1 – The drug-war death toll for Mexico in April was 1,400, the highest of any month since the Mexican government began its war on illicit drug trade four years ago. The previous high was 1,322 in August 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/americas/view/20110501new_murder_record_in_mexico_more_than_1400_in_april/srvc%3Dhome%26position%3Drecent|title=New murder record in Mexico: More than 1,400 in April|website=BostonHerald.com|date=May 8, 2011|access-date=April 9, 2018|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508010123/http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/americas/view/20110501new_murder_record_in_mexico_more_than_1400_in_april/srvc%3Dhome%26position%3Drecent|archive-date=May 8, 2011|df=mdy-all}}
May 9 – The Mexican government, along with Sedena, disarm all police forces in the state of Tamaulipas, beginning with the cities of Matamoros and Reynosa.{{cite news|title=Sedena desarma a policías de Tamaulipas|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYW7mvmIfbc|newspaper=TV Milenio|date=May 9, 2011}}
May 14 – 2011 Durango massacres: In the state of Durango, 249 bodies were exhumed from numerous clandestine mass graves.{{cite news|title=Suman 249 cuerpos exhumados de narcofosas en Durango|url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=273374|newspaper=El Proceso|date=June 20, 2011|access-date=September 6, 2011|archive-date=March 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323031220/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=273374|url-status=dead}} Some sources, however, indicate that the actual body count reached 308 corpses.{{cite news|title=Discovery of Another Mass Grave in Mexico Brings Questions of Law Enforcement Failings |url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/23/mexican-mass-graves-leads-gruesome-discovery/|newspaper=Fox News|date=May 23, 2011}}
May 16 – In Guatemala, 27 farmers were killed by Los Zetas; the majority of the victims presented signs of torture and decapitation.{{cite news|title=Los Zetas realizan masacre en Guatemala: 27 muertos|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/05/los-zetas-realizan-masacre-en-guatemala.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=May 16, 2011}}
May 20 – In Nuevo Laredo, directly across the border from Laredo, Texas, 31 people were killed in a 24-hour span.{{cite news|title=31 People Dead in Nuevo Laredo in Past 24 Hours|url=http://www.pro8news.com/news/31-People-Dead-in-Nuevo-Laredo-in-Past-24-Hours-122375399.html|newspaper=Pro8News|date=May 20, 2011}} In addition, more than 40 people were injured, and 196 drug cartel gunmen were detained.{{cite news|title=Crackdown on Mexico cartel leaves 31 dead|url=http://www.pro8news.com/news/31-People-Dead-in-Nuevo-Laredo-in-Past-24-Hours-122375399.html|newspaper=The Raw Story|date=August 4, 2011}}
May 27 – In Ruiz, Nayarit, a convoy from the Los Zetas ambushed and killed 29 gunmen of the Sinaloa Cartel.{{cite news|last=Ioan Grillo|title=Special Report: Mexico's Zetas rewrite drug war in blood|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-drugs-zetas-idUSBRE84M0LT20120523|access-date=9 July 2012|work=Reuters|date=23 March 2012}}
A confrontation between the Federal Police forces and La Familia Michoacana in a ranch at Jilotlán de los Dolores, in western Jalisco, left 11 La Familia gunmen killed and 36 arrested.{{cite news|title=Un choque armado deja 11 muertos y 36 sicarios detenidos en México|url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/internacional/20110528/54162272589/un-choque-armado-deja-11-muertos-y-36-sicarios-detenidos-en-mexico.html|newspaper=La Vanguardia|date=May 28, 2011}} More than 70 assault rifles were confiscated, along with 14 handguns, 3 grenades, 578 cartridges, 20,000 rounds of ammunition, and 40 bullet-proof vests. It was later discovered that La Familia Michoacana was planning a raid against the Knights Templar.{{cite news|title=Policía Federal da golpe a La Familia Michoacana: Captura a 36 integrantes y abate a 11 pistoleros|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/05/policia-federal-da-golpe-la-familia.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=28 May 2011}}
June 3 – In the state of Coahuila, 38 bodies were exhumed from clandestine mass graves.{{cite news|title=Hallan más de 30 narcofosas en Coahuila|url=http://www.terra.com.mx/noticias/articulo/1126256/Hallan+mas+de+30+narcofosas+en+Coahuila.htm|newspaper=Terra|date=June 3, 2011|access-date=September 15, 2011|archive-date=August 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807060732/http://www.terra.com.mx/noticias/articulo/1126256/Hallan+mas+de+30+narcofosas+en+Coahuila.htm|url-status=dead}}
June 9 – The United States government arrested 127 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who were collaborating with the Mexican drug cartels.{{cite news|title=EU arrestó a 127 agentes aduanales corrompidos por narco mexicanos |url=http://www.mundonarco.com/2011/06/eu-arresto-127-agentes-aduanales.html |newspaper=Mundo Narco |date=June 9, 2011 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
June 15 – A total of 34 people were killed in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in a 24-hour span.{{cite news|title=Miércoles negro en Nuevo León: 34 muertos en 24 horas|url=http://noticias.univision.com/mexico/noticias/article/2011-06-16/miercoles-negro-en-nuevo-leon|newspaper=Univisión Noticias|date=June 16, 2011}}
June 21 – José de Jesús Méndez Vargas 'El Chango', leader of La Familia Michoacana, was captured in Aguascalientes.{{cite news|title=Cae "El Chango" Méndez líder de "La Familia Michoacana"|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE12wkb_pTA&feature=watch_response_rev|newspaper=TV Milenio|date=June 21, 2011}}
July 1 – In Fresnillo, Zacatecas, during a confrontation between Los Zetas and the Mexican forces, 15 Zeta gunmen were killed, and 17 were arrested;{{cite news|title=Balacera entre Marinos y "Zetas" deja 15 presuntos delincuentes abatidos|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXGbooR5W4o|newspaper=TV Milenio|date=July 1, 2011}} SEMAR notified that 6 marines were wounded.{{cite news|title=Balacera deja 15 sicarios muertos y 17 detenidos|url=http://www.elsiglodedurango.com.mx/noticia/317612.balacera-deja-15-sicarios-muertos-y-17-deteni.html|newspaper=El Siglo de Durango|date=1 Jul 2011}}
Zacateca's Attorney General, Arturo Nahle García, confirmed that in Fresnillo, more than 250 Los Zetas gunmen confronted elements of the Mexican Navy throughout the whole city.{{cite news|title=Se enfrentan 250 presuntos sicarios con elementos de la Marina en Zacatecas|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/9e9935480ca6e2229598780f80cf4497|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|date=1 July 2011}}
July 4 – Federal Police agents arrest Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar, one of the leaders and co-founders of the Los Zetas drug cartel.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14019264 |work=BBC News | title=Mexico arrests 'top leader of Zetas drug gang' | date=July 4, 2011}}
July 8 – In the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, a group of gunmen shot and killed 27 people, injured 7, and kidnapped 8 in 'Bar Sabino Gordo.' Presumably, this massacre was from the Gulf Cartel to their rival group Los Zetas.{{cite news|title=Sicarios realizan ataque en Monterrey: 27 muertos|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/07/sicarios-realizan-masacre-en-monterrey.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=July 8, 2011}}{{cite news|title=Los Zetas colocan más narcomantas en Nuevo León: Llegan a Bar Sabino y dejan mensaje|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/07/los-zetas-colocan-mas-narcomantas-en.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=July 11, 2011}}
July 9 – Fighting among Los Zetas and other drug cartels led to the deaths of more than 40 people whose bodies were found in three Mexican cities over a 24-hour span.{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-07-09-drug-war-mexico-killings_n.htm | work=USA Today | title=Most Popular E-mail Newsletter | date=July 10, 2011}}
July 9 – 2011 Matamoros mass kidnapping, 18 members of the Cázares family were kidnapped by affiliates of the Gulf Cartel from three different households in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.{{cite news |last1=Cave |first1=Damien |title=In Mexico, a Kidnapping Ignored as Crime Worsens |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/world/americas/in-mexico-a-kidnapping-ignored-as-gang-crimes-go-unpunished.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |url-status=dead|access-date=27 August 2014 |work=The New York Times |date=17 March 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615050611/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/world/americas/in-mexico-a-kidnapping-ignored-as-gang-crimes-go-unpunished.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& |archive-date=15 June 2013 |url-access=limited}}{{cite news|last1=Pilatos|first1=Alfonso|title=El secuestro de la familia Cázares y la cobardía del alcalde|url=http://columnatamaulipas.com/el-secuestro-de-la-familia-cazares-y-la-cobardia-del-alcalde/|access-date=29 August 2014|publisher=Columna Tamaulipas|date=28 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409025114/http://columnatamaulipas.com/el-secuestro-de-la-familia-cazares-y-la-cobardia-del-alcalde/|archive-date=9 April 2012|url-status=dead|language=es}}
July 11 – Armando Villarreal Heredia, a U.S-born drug lieutenant of the Arellano-Felix drug cartel, is arrested by the Federal Police.{{cite web |url=http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=406174&CategoryId=14091 |title=Latin American Herald Tribune – Mexico Captures Drug Kingpin |publisher=Laht.com |access-date=July 12, 2011 |archive-date=June 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610163627/http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=406174&CategoryId=14091 |url-status=dead }}
July 12 – In Ciudad Juárez, 21 people were killed in different parts of the city by gunmen.{{cite news|title=Nueva masacre en Ciudad Juárez con un saldo de 21 muertos|url=http://vodpod.com/watch/12993664-nueva-masacre-en-ciudad-jurez-con-un-saldo-de-21-muertos|newspaper=Actualidad RT Noticias|date=July 12, 2011|access-date=September 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901024836/http://vodpod.com/watch/12993664-nueva-masacre-en-ciudad-jurez-con-un-saldo-de-21-muertos|archive-date=September 1, 2011|url-status=dead}} This marked the deadliest day for Ciudad Juárez in 2011.{{cite news|title=Dos ciudades al norte de México marcadas por la violencia|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/07/14/dos-ciudades-al-norte-de-mexico-marcadas-por-la-violencia|newspaper=CNN Mexico|date=July 14, 2011}}
July 14 – The Mexican Army discovers the largest marijuana plantation ever found in the country, 320 km (200 mi) south of San Diego, U.S., in the state of Baja California; consisting of 120 hectares (300 acres) that would have yielded about 120 tons, and was worth about US$160 million.{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/14/mexicos-largest-marijuana-plantation-would-have-yielded-120-tonnes/ |title=Mexico's largest marijuana plantation uncovered | News | National Post |publisher=News.nationalpost.com }}
July 15 – In Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, 66 inmates escaped a federal prison during a massive brawl, where 7 other inmates were found dead.{{cite news|title=Se fugan por lo menos 66 reos en penal de N.Laredo|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/779573.html|newspaper=El Universal|date=July 15, 2011}}
July 23 – President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, and peace and human rights activists, which included the poet Javier Sicilia, gathered in Chapultepec Castle to initiate a national aired discussion on Mexico's drug war violence and on the country's military-led strategy against the drug cartels.{{cite news|title=Diálogo entre el Presidente Calderón y el Movimiento por la Paz|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyUB765itNY|newspaper=Gobierno Federal|date=July 23, 2011}}
Due to anonymous calls by civilians, the Mexican Army carried out an operation to crack down on operatives from Los Zetas in Pánuco, Veracruz; when the Mexican forces arrived at the place, the gunmen received them with shots, but the Army repelled the aggression and killed 10 Zetas.{{cite news|title=Militares atienden denuncia anónima y abaten a 10 sicarios en Veracruz|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/07/militares-atienden-denuncia-anonima.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=July 23, 2011}}
July 24 – An unidentified group of gunmen disarmed 21 policemen in Michoacán.{{cite news|title=Desarman a 21 policías auxiliares|url=http://www.eldiariodecoahuila.com.mx/notas/2011/7/25/zona-caliente-245078.asp|newspaper=El Diario de Coahuila|date=July 25, 2011|access-date=August 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001045309/http://www.eldiariodecoahuila.com.mx/notas/2011/7/25/zona-caliente-245078.asp|archive-date=October 1, 2011|url-status=dead}} According to the information given, the gunmen carried out personal inspections to each police officer, disarming them one by one. The cops refused to defend themselves because the gunmen expressed high levels of anxiousness, and they were scared of being executed.{{cite news|title=Encapuchados desarman a 21 policías en Michoacán|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/07/encapuchados-desarman-21-policias-en.html#comment-264008784|newspaper=Blog del Narco}}
July 25 – Inside a prison in Ciudad Juárez, 17 inmates were shot and killed during a brawl between rival drug groups.{{cite news|title=Balacera deja 17 muertos en penal de Ciudad Juárez|url=http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2011/07/26/991439/balacera-deja-17-muertos-en-penal.html|newspaper=El Nuevo Heraldo|date=July 26, 2011}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
July 28 – Fortino Cortés Sandoval, the mayor of Florencia de Benito Juárez, Zacatecas, is found dead after a group of gunmen abducted him from his office.{{cite news|title=Fourth mayor found dead this year in Mexico|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_696057.html|newspaper=Straits Times|date=Jul 29, 2011}}
July 31 – The Federal Police forces of Mexico captured José Antonio Acosta Hernández, nicknamed "El Diego," supreme leader of La Linea, the armed wing of the Juárez Cartel. According to government sources, "El Diego" had ordered more than 1,500 executions, some of them including government officials.{{cite news|title=Autoridades presentan a El Diego, líder de La Línea y jefe operativo del cártel de Juárez|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/07/autoridades-presentan-el-diego-lider-de.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=July 31, 2011}}{{cite news|title=El Diego ordenó al menos mil 500 ejecuciones|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/07/el-diego-ordeno-al-menos-mil-500.html#more|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=July 31, 2011}}
August 4 – The Secretariat of National Defense announced that after the initiation of the 'Operation Lince Norte', an operation focused primarily on destroying the financial and logistic sectors of Los Zetas,{{cite news|title=Operación "Lince Norte", golpe contundente a los Zetas: Sedena|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DcrYutMnro|access-date=August 5, 2011|newspaper=TV Milenio}} more than 500,000 pesos have been confiscated, and more than 30 'Zeta' gunmen killed.{{cite news|title=Revelan golpe contundente a 'Zetas' con 30 muertos|url=http://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/649140.revelan-golpe-contundente-a-zetas-con-30-muer.html|access-date=August 4, 2011|newspaper=El Siglo de Torreón}}
August 12 – Óscar García Montoya, alias ‘El Compayito’, supreme leader of the criminal group La Mano con Ojos, was captured.{{cite news|title=Cae "El Compayito" líder de "La Mano con Ojos"|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghb_paxsXw0|access-date=August 12, 2011|newspaper=TV Milenio}} He confessed to have killed over 300 people by himself, and ordered the execution of 300 more.{{cite news|title=La Mano con Ojos "El Compayito" confiesa|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEx_lDKpKt4&feature=feedu_more|access-date=August 12, 2011|newspaper=TV Milenio}}
August 20 – In Torreón, a shooting was registered during a soccer match between Santos Laguna and Monarcas Morelia.{{cite news|title=Balacera En Partido Santos vs Monarcas Morelia|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4bg5ciIpgI|newspaper=TV Azteca|date=2010-08-11}}
The mayor of Zacualpan, Mexico State, Jesús Eduviges Nava,{{cite news|title=Mayor Kidnapped Near Mexico City Found Dead|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/21/mayor-kidnapped-near-mexi_n_932364.html|newspaper=Latino Voices|date=August 21, 2011|first=Cindy Y.|last=Rodriguez}} was found dead after being kidnapped by gunmen who interrupted a meeting he was holding in his municipality.{{cite news|title=Violencia en México cobra vida de un alcalde, suman 19 desde 2010|url=http://www.rnw.nl/espanol/bulletin/violencia-en-m%C3%A9xico-cobra-vida-de-un-alcalde-suman-19-desde-2010-0|newspaper=ANP/AFP|date=August 21, 2011|access-date=September 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821110832/http://www.rnw.nl/espanol/bulletin/violencia-en-m%C3%A9xico-cobra-vida-de-un-alcalde-suman-19-desde-2010-0|archive-date=August 21, 2011|url-status=dead}}
August 25 – 2011 Monterrey casino attack: a well-armed group of gunmen massacred 52 people, and injured over a dozen, at Casino Royale.{{cite news|title=Atacan Casino Royale en Monterrey: 52 muertos|url=http://monterrey.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/b969338e9136051cf54e4a5225248d48|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|date=25 August 2011 }} Although not confirmed, some sources mention that 61 were killed in the attack.{{cite news|title=Suman 61 muertos por ataque en Monterrey|url=http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/suman61muertosporataqueenmonterrey-1077148.html|newspaper=Vanguardia|date=26 August 2011}} This attack was the most violent and bloodiest in the history of Monterrey and of the whole state of Nuevo Leon.{{cite news|title=At Least 53 Killed in Mexico Casino|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904875404576531150085042280|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal {{!}} Latin America|date=August 25, 2011|first=José|last=De Córdoba}} According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen quietly stormed the casino and immediately opened fire at the civilians, and then doused the casino entrances with gasoline and started a fire that trapped the people inside.{{cite news|title=Masacre en un casino de Monterrey: 61 muertos |url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/08/masacre-en-un-casino-de-monterrey-32.html |access-date=August 25, 2011 |newspaper=Blog del Narco |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920034503/http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/08/masacre-en-un-casino-de-monterrey-32.html |archive-date=September 20, 2011 }}
August 30 – In Acapulco, 140 elementary schools closed and over 600 teachers quit their jobs due to the money threats they have been receiving from the drug cartels.{{cite news|title=Maestros cierran 140 escuelas en Acapulco tras amenazas del crimen organizado|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcJaKE2RWBI&feature=feedu_more|newspaper=TV Milenio|date=August 30, 2011}} Over 75,000 kids are not attending school.{{cite news|title=Incrementan escuelas cerradas en Acapulco; autoridad pide su regreso|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/09/03/incrementan-escuelas-cerradas-en-acapulco-autoridad-pide-su-regreso|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|date=September 3, 2011}} One teacher confessed to have seen on a regular basis men in cars with assault rifles sticking out the windows, just outside school grounds.{{cite news|title=México: unas 140 escuelas en Acapulco cierran por amenazas|url=http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/m%C3%A9xico-140-escuelas-acapulco-cierran-amenazas-020153403.html|newspaper=Yahoo Noticias (Mex)|date=August 30, 2011}}
September 14 – In the small town of Juchipila in the state of Zacatecas, over 80 gunmen—presumably from the Gulf Cartel—took control of the town, its jail, and its city hall for over five hours.{{cite news|title=Hombres armados toman por 5 horas la alcaldía y cárcel de Juchipila, Zacatecas|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irN9szW4mrA|access-date=September 14, 2011|newspaper=Noticias 40}} They said their goal was to wipe out any presence of Los Zetas in the area.{{cite news|title=Unos 70 gatilleros del cártel del Golfo tomaron Juchipila, Zacatecas|url=http://noticias.univision.com/narcotrafico/noticias/article/2011-09-14/70-gatilleros-cartel-golfo-juchipila-zacatecas|access-date=September 14, 2011|newspaper=Univision Noticias}}
September 20 – Two trucks containing 35 dead bodies are found in Boca del Río, Veracruz.{{cite news|title=35 bodies found in Mexican roadway during rush hour |url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/09/20/world/americas/mexico-bodies-found/index.html |newspaper=CNN |date=September 20, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011045126/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-20/americas/world_americas_mexico-bodies-found_1_bodies-roadway-drug-related-violence?_s=PM%3AAMERICAS |archive-date=October 11, 2012 }} Sources mention that all victims were linked to Los Zetas,{{cite news|title=Dumping of 35 bodies seen as challenge to Zetas|url=http://www.ksl.com/?nid=235&sid=6110278|newspaper=KSL Broadcasting|date=September 21, 2011|access-date=September 23, 2011|archive-date=September 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923192339/http://www.ksl.com/?nid=235&sid=6110278|url-status=dead}} and that the executions were performed by the Sinaloa Cartel's armed wing, Gente Nueva.{{cite news|title=En Veracruz tiran a 40 ejecutados; en narcomantas señalan que los muertos son Zetas|url=http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2011/09/en-veracruz-tiran-40-ejecutados-en.html|newspaper=Blog del Narco|date=September 20, 2011}}{{cite news|title=35 bodies dumped in Mexican city as president begins effort to woo tourists|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/mexicos-dueling-images-35-dead-in-tourist-town/2011/09/21/gIQAkHjZlK_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 21, 2011|first=Thomas|last=Erdbrink}} Nevertheless, the criminal group Los Mata Zetas claimed responsibility for this massacre.{{cite news|title=Los "Mata Zetas" piden disculpas por los cuerpos abandonados en Veracruz|url=http://www.teleamazonas.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15651:los-qmata-zetasq-piden-disculpas-por-los-cuerpos-abandonados-en-veracruz&catid=49:noticias-internacionales&Itemid=88|newspaper=Tele Amazonas|date=September 27, 2011}} In addition, 14 more bodies were found around Veracruz two days after this incident,{{cite news|last=Vega|first=Aurora|title=Tiran 14 cuerpos más en calles de Veracruz, a pesar de operativo|url=http://excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&id_nota=770131|newspaper=Excelsior|date=September 22, 2011}} summing up to 49 bodies found in public highways in the last forty-eight hours.{{cite news|title=Suman 14 cuerpos encontrados en Veracruz|url=http://www.informador.com.mx/mexico/2011/324329/6/suman-14-cuerpos-encontrados-en-veracruz.htm|newspaper=El Informado|date=September 22, 2011|access-date=September 24, 2011|archive-date=September 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926013503/http://www.informador.com.mx/mexico/2011/324329/6/suman-14-cuerpos-encontrados-en-veracruz.htm|url-status=dead}}
October 4 – The federal government launches the military-led project called Operación Veracruz Seguro to ensure tranquility in Veracruz.{{cite news|title=Presenta Segob proyecto "Veracruz Seguro"|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/46f733b722786809300b7917bc0a0106|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|date=October 4, 2011}} Reports mention that Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel, and the Sinaloa Cartel are present in that state.{{cite news|title=Veracruz after highway body dump|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/09/29/mexico-sends-federal-troops-to-veracruz-after-highway-body-dump/|newspaper=Fox News {{!}} Latino|date=September 29, 2011}}
October 5 – In Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexican authorities captured Noel Salgueiro Nevárez, the supreme leader of the Sinaloa Cartel's armed wing, Gente Nueva.{{cite news|title=Las autoridades detienen a fundadores de 'La Familia' y 'Gente Nueva'|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/10/05/el-ejercito-detiene-al-fundador-de-gente-nueva-y-operador-de-el-chapo|newspaper=CNN Mexico|date=October 5, 2011}} They also captured Martín Rosales Magaña, one of the founders of La Familia Michoacana.{{cite news|title=Mexico says a leader of fading cartel caught |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/05/ap/latinamerica/main20116082.shtml |newspaper=CBS News |date=October 5, 2011 }}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
October 6 – In Boca del Río, Veracruz, a total of 36 bodies were found by Mexican authorities in three houses.{{cite news|title=La Marina localiza 32 cuerpos en casas de seguridad en Veracruz|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/10/06/la-marina-localiza-32-cuerpos-en-casas-de-seguridad-en-veracruz|newspaper=CNN Mexico|date=October 6, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513211541/http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/10/06/la-marina-localiza-32-cuerpos-en-casas-de-seguridad-en-veracruz|archive-date=May 13, 2012|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news|title=Marina reporta el hallazgo de 32 cuerpos en Veracruz; la Procuraduría, 4|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/10/06/la-marina-localiza-32-cuerpos-en-casas-de-seguridad-en-veracruz|newspaper=CNN Mexico|date=October 6, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513211541/http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/10/06/la-marina-localiza-32-cuerpos-en-casas-de-seguridad-en-veracruz|archive-date=May 13, 2012|df=mdy-all}} Eight alleged perpetrators of the recent killings in Veracruz have been caught, including the leader of the group Los Mata Zetas.{{cite news|title=La Marina detiene a ocho presuntos 'Mata Zetas' en Veracruz|url=http://blogs.cnnmexico.com/ultimas-noticias/2011/10/07/la-marina-detiene-a-ocho-supuestos-mata-zetas-en-veracruz/|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|date=October 7, 2011|access-date=October 7, 2011|archive-date=July 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711073433/http://blogs.cnnmexico.com/ultimas-noticias/2011/10/07/la-marina-detiene-a-ocho-supuestos-mata-zetas-en-veracruz/|url-status=dead}} Also, the Attorney General of Veracruz resigned from his position due to the increasing violence.{{cite news|title=El procurador de Veracruz renuncia a su cargo tras una ola de violencia|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/10/07/el-procurador-de-veracruz-presenta-su-renuncia-tras-una-ola-de-violencia|newspaper=CNN Mexico|date=2010-07-11|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040056/http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/10/07/el-procurador-de-veracruz-presenta-su-renuncia-tras-una-ola-de-violencia|archive-date=March 4, 2016|df=mdy-all}} A day after this incident, another 10 bodies were found across the state of Veracruz.{{cite news|title=Otros 10 cadáveres son encontrados en el estado de Veracruz|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/10/08/otros-10-cadaveres-son-encontrados-en-el-estado-de-veracruz|newspaper=CNN Mexico|date=October 8, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318000531/http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/10/08/otros-10-cadaveres-son-encontrados-en-el-estado-de-veracruz|archive-date=March 18, 2012|df=mdy-all}} The wave of violence has caused over 100 deaths in the past two weeks in Veracruz.{{cite news|title=Suma 100 muertos Veracruz en tan sólo 18 días|url=http://www.terra.com.mx/noticias/articulo/1222010/Suma+100+muertos+Veracruz+en+tan+solo+18+dias.htm|newspaper=Terra|date=October 9, 2011|access-date=October 11, 2011|archive-date=October 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015072048/http://www.terra.com.mx/noticias/articulo/1222010/Suma+100+muertos+Veracruz+en+tan+solo+18+dias.htm|url-status=dead}}
October 14 – Carlos Oliva Castillo alias "La Rana," third-in-command in Los Zetas organization and the mastermind of the 2011 Monterrey casino attack where 52 were killed, was captured in northern city of Saltillo, Coahuila.{{cite news|title=Mexico arrests a key leader of Zetas gang|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-zetas-20111014,0,4336987.story|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=October 14, 2011|first=Ken|last=Ellingwood}}
November 11 – Francisco Blake Mora, Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of Felipe Calderón, dies in a helicopter accident in foggy weather. Some sources speculate that his death was an assassination, though no concrete evidence suggests this.{{cite news|title=Mexico helicopter crash 'was accident'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15710562|access-date=February 22, 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=November 13, 2011}}
November 23 – A total of 23 bodies, 16 of them burned to death, were located in several abandoned vehicles in Sinaloa.{{cite news|title=Las autoridades de Sinaloa localizan 23 cadáveres en tres municipios|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/11/23/las-autoridades-de-sinaloa-localizan-20-cadaveres-en-dos-municipios|access-date=November 24, 2011|newspaper=CNN Mexico|date=November 23, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123204241/http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/11/23/las-autoridades-de-sinaloa-localizan-20-cadaveres-en-dos-municipios|archive-date=November 23, 2011|df=mdy-all}}
November 24 – Three trucks containing 26 bodies were found in an avenue at Guadalajara, Jalisco.{{cite news|title=26 cadáveres son abandonados en camionetas, en una avenida de Guadalajara|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/11/24/cadaveres-en-tres-camionetas-son-abandonados-en-un-avenida-de-guadalajara|access-date=November 24, 2011|newspaper=CNN Mexico|date=November 24, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124202929/http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/11/24/cadaveres-en-tres-camionetas-son-abandonados-en-un-avenida-de-guadalajara|archive-date=November 24, 2011|df=mdy-all}} All of them were male corpses.{{cite news|title=26 bodies dumped in mass slaying in Guadalajara|url=http://www.chron.com/news/article/26-bodies-dumped-in-mass-slaying-in-Guadalajara-2286984.php|access-date=November 24, 2011|newspaper=Houston Chronicle}} Reports mention that Los Zetas and the Milenio Cartel are responsible for the massacre of these twenty-six alleged Sinaloa Cartel members.{{cite news|title=El Cártel del Milenio y Los Zetas se atribuyen masacre en Guadalajara|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw7gOAxgFnI&feature=feedu|access-date=November 25, 2011|newspaper=Univision}}
December 14 – A convoy of U.S. military members was seen crossing the U.S-Mexico border from Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Tamaulipas.{{cite news|title=Ingresan a Matamoros militares de EU|url=http://www.elnuevoheraldo.com/news/matamoros-53958-reunen-militares.html|access-date=December 16, 2011|newspaper=El Nuevo Heraldo}} The U.S. soldiers were greeted by Mexican military officials at the international bridge, and were escorted to their meeting location south of Matamoros.{{cite news|title=American Consulate speaks about U.S.military presence in Matamoros|url=http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=697960#.TusUcCO3CFc|access-date=December 16, 2011|newspaper=Action 4 News|date=December 15, 2011|archive-date=April 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406172141/http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=697960#.TusUcCO3CFc|url-status=dead}} Reports mention that the meeting between the two military units was to discuss “mutual security” concerns.{{cite news|title=Officials: Military meeting in Matamoros 'uneventful'|url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/army-134930-members-military.html|access-date=December 16, 2011|newspaper=The Brownsville Herald|date=December 14, 2011|archive-date=January 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122073605/http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/army-134930-members-military.html|url-status=dead}}
December 25 – The Mexican army announced that it had captured Guzmán's head of security. The arrest took place in Culiacán, the Sinaloa state capital.['El Chapo' Security Head Arrested [https://web.archive.org/web/20111226170149/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2103102,00.html] AP December 25, 2011

=2012=

January 4 – In a prison brawl in Altamira, Tamaulipas, 31 inmates were killed.{{cite news|last=Klerigan|first=Efrain|title=Mexico Prison Fight: 31 Killed In Altamira|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/04/mexico-prison-fight-altamira_n_1185228.html|access-date=February 18, 2012|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=January 4, 2012}} According to the witnesses, the brawl was between Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas.{{cite news|title=31 dead in Mexico prison knife brawl|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/05/knife-brawl-kills-mexico-prison|access-date=February 18, 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 4, 2012|location=London}}
January 7 – Police in the northern city of Torreón found the severed heads of five people killed in a suspected outbreak of drug gang violence. Officials were still searching for the bodies. The heads were found in black bags in various parts of the city late on Friday, a spokesman for the ministry of public security in the state of Coahuila said on Saturday. Threatening messages were left with the severed heads – a common feature of killings by drug cartels in Mexico – that suggested the slayings were the result of feuding between local gangs, the spokesman said.{{cite news| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/07/mexico-severed-heads_n_1191628.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D125693 |work=Huffington Post | first=Jacqueline | last=Delange | title=Torreon Killings: Five Severed Heads Found In Northern Mexican City | date=January 7, 2012}}
February 2 – Two U.S. missionaries from a Baptist Church were killed in Santiago, Nuevo León, by drug cartel members.{{cite news|title=2 Texas missionaries murdered in north Mexico|url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/01/2-americans-found-dead-in-northern-mexico/|access-date=March 4, 2012|publisher=Fox News|date=February 2, 2012}}
February 19 – In Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, 44 inmates were killed in a prison riot, presumably caused by a brawl between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas.{{cite news|title=Dozens killed in Mexico prison fight|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/02/2012219165349443681.html|access-date=February 19, 2012|newspaper=Al Jazeera}}
March 19 – While conducting an investigation on the beheadings of ten other people, 12 policemen were ambushed and killed by gunmen in Teloloapan, Guerrero.{{cite news|title=Mexican policemen killed after beheadings|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17439509|access-date=March 20, 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=March 19, 2012}} Eleven other police officers were wounded.{{cite news|title=Investigating Beheadings, 12 Officers Slain in Mexico|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/world/americas/investigating-beheadings-12-officers-slain-in-mexico.html|access-date=March 20, 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=March 19, 2012}}
March 23 – Thirteen people were killed in a wave of drug violence that swept Mexico a day before the Pope's visit. Seven men were found shot on the side of the road in Angostura, Sinaloa, at a spot where locals often purchased contraband gasoline from the cartels. Four severed heads were found in an abandoned car in Acapulco. The body of a minor and a cab driver were also found in the town.{{cite news|title=Drug Violence Leaves 13 Dead in Mexico Ahead of Pope's Visi|url=http://tv.ibtimes.com/drug-violence-leaves-13-dead-in-mexico-ahead-of-pope-s-visit/4398.html|access-date=April 2, 2012|newspaper=International Business Times|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724091226/http://tv.ibtimes.com/drug-violence-leaves-13-dead-in-mexico-ahead-of-pope-s-visit/4398.html|archive-date=July 24, 2012|url-status=dead}}
March 27 – Ten people were reported killed in a shootout in Temosachi in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua, where the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels have been fighting for control over drug smuggling routes into the U.S.{{cite news|title=DRUG WAR: 10 dead in Mexico shootout among gunmen|url=http://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/ci_20265864/drug-war-10-dead-mexico-shootout-among-gunmen|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121055733/http://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/ci_20265864/drug-war-10-dead-mexico-shootout-among-gunmen|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 21, 2013|access-date=April 2, 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Daily News}}
April 20 – Gunmen kill 16 people in a bar in the capital city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua.{{cite news|title=Suman 15 los ejecutados en bar de Chihuahua; dos periodistas, entre las víctimas|url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=305003|access-date=April 23, 2012|newspaper=Proceso|date=April 20, 2012|language=es|archive-date=April 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428135438/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=305003|url-status=dead}} Two of those killed were journalists.{{cite news|title=Ascienden a 16 los muertos por ataque a bar en Chihuahua|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/1e23963bb6a02e607cb45bf92683ff25|access-date=May 1, 2012|newspaper=Milenio|date=April 30, 2012|language=es}}
May 1 – Armed confrontations between the Mexican military and cartel members in Choix, Sinaloa, left 27 people dead.{{cite news|title=Enfrentamientos entre delincuentes y militares en Sinaloa dejan 27 muertos|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2012/05/01/enfrentamientos-entre-delincuentes-y-militares-en-sinaloa-dejan-27-muertos|access-date=May 5, 2012|newspaper=CNNMéxico|date=May 1, 2012|language=es}}
May 4 – In Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, 23 corpses—14 of them decapitated and 9 of them hanged from a bridge—were found early in the morning.{{cite news|title=Suman 23 muertos en Nuevo Laredo, entre colgados y decapitados|url=http://noticias.univision.com/narcotrafico/noticias/article/2012-05-04/nueve-cuerpos-colgados-puente-nuevo-laredo-mexico-narco-zetas|access-date=May 5, 2012|newspaper=Univision|date=May 4, 2012|language=es}}
May 9 – The chopped-up remains of 18 bodies were found inside two trucks near Chapala, Jalisco, just south of the city of Guadalajara.{{cite news|title=Narcoviolencia vuelve a Jalisco; hallan 18 cuerpos en dos vehículos|url=http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&seccion=portada&cat=28&id_nota=833054|access-date=May 10, 2012|newspaper=Excélsior|date=May 10, 2012|language=es}}
May 13 – The Cadereyta Jiménez massacre occurred on the Mexican Federal Highway 40. The decapitated and dismembered bodies of 49 people were found in Cadereyta Jiménez. The remains were left along the road in Nuevo León, between the cities of Monterrey and Reynosa. A message written on a wall nearby appeared to refer to Los Zetas drug cartel.{{cite news|title=49 decapitated bodies found in Mexico|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/13/world/americas/mexico-remains/?hpt=hp_t2%20CNN%20-%2049%20decapitated%20bodies%20found%20in%20Mexico|access-date=May 14, 2012|newspaper=CNN|date=May 13, 2012}}
June 4 – In the Mexican city of Torreón, Coahuila, gunmen killed 11 people at a rehabilitation clinic.{{cite news|title=Attack on Mexican drug rehab center leaves 11 dead|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-drugs-idUSBRE85307820120604|access-date=4 June 2012|newspaper=Reuters|date=4 June 2012|first=Mica|last=Rosenberg}}
August 12 – A total of 12 decomposing bodies are found inside an abandoned vehicle in Zacatecas.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/mexico/120811/mexico-drug-war-bodies-car|title=Mexico drug war: 12 decomposing bodies found in car|work=GlobalPost|date=August 11, 2012 |access-date=December 2, 2014}}
August 14 – Members of the Gulf Cartel storm a bar in Monterrey and kill 10 people.{{cite news| url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/08/14/10-die-in-attack-on-bar-in-northern-mexico/ | work=Fox News | title=10 Die in attack on bar in northern Mexico | date=August 14, 2012}}
October 7 – Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano is killed by the Mexican Navy.{{cite web|url=http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/lamarinaabateaheribertolazcanoencoahuila-1391116.html|title=La Marina abate a Heriberto Lazcano en Coahuila|website=Vanguardia.com.mx|date=October 8, 2012 |access-date=December 2, 2014}}
December 19 – A failed prison break and subsequent brawl between inmates leaves at least 23 dead in Gómez Palacio, Durango.{{cite news|title=Van 23 muertos por fuga fallida en Durango|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/9c1f11847d89ac14cdb137d6a41f3799|access-date=19 December 2012|newspaper=Milenio|date=19 December 2012|language=es}}

=2013=

January 3 – 12 alleged drug traffickers are killed by Mexican troops in La Estación, Zacatecas.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-20897543 |title=Mexico troops kill 12 in gun fight in Zacatecas state|work=BBC News|date=January 3, 2013}}
January 15 – High-ranking Gulf Cartel leader El Metro 4 is assassinated in Tamaulipas state by alleged drug traffickers.{{cite news|last=Fox|first=Edward|title=Gulf Cartel Leader Assassinated in Northern Mexico|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/gulf-cartel-leader-assassinated-mexico|access-date=19 February 2013|newspaper=InSight Crime|date=17 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121013656/http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/gulf-cartel-leader-assassinated-mexico|archive-date=21 January 2013|url-status=live}}
January 20 – José Ángel Coronel Carrasco, cousin of Ignacio Coronel Villarreal and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is arrested in Culiacán by Mexican soldiers.{{cite news|title=Cae 'El Changel', supuesto sucesor de 'Nacho' Coronel|url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=332243|publisher=Proceso|date=30 January 2013|access-date=October 2, 2014|archive-date=February 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203211839/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=332243|url-status=dead}}
January 28 – The bodies of eight members of the band Kombo Kolombia were found dead in Hidalgo, Nuevo León. Three days earlier, several unidentified gunmen kidnapped 20 members of the band after a concert in the same city.{{cite news|title=At least eight bodies found where Kombo Kolombia band went missing|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/at-least-eight-bodies-found-where-kombo-kolombia-band-went-missing-8469112.html|access-date=29 January 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=28 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128234005/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/at-least-eight-bodies-found-where-kombo-kolombia-band-went-missing-8469112.html|archive-date=28 January 2013|url-status=live|location=London}}{{cite news|title=Kombo Kolombia, otra tragedia en el mundo de la música|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/898931.html|access-date=29 January 2013|newspaper=El Universal (Mexico City)|date=28 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131010245/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/898931.html|archive-date=31 January 2013|url-status=live|language=es}}
March 10 – Gulf Cartel forces led by Miguel "El Gringo" Villarreal and Mario Pelón Ramírez clash in Reynosa, leaving an unofficial death toll of 36 dead.{{cite news|last=Ortiz|first=Ildefonso|title=Reynosa shootout: Dozens dead, trucks filled with bodies|url=http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/article_51250fca-8ac3-11e2-98d3-0019bb30f31a.html|access-date=12 March 2013|newspaper=Valley Morning Star|date=11 March 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130412023824/http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/article_51250fca-8ac3-11e2-98d3-0019bb30f31a.html|archive-date=12 April 2013|url-status=live}}
March 24 – Humberto Rodríguez Coronel, regional cartel leader of Durango and nephew of Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is arrested by the Navy.{{cite news|title=Cae en Durango 'El Canelo', sobrino de 'Nacho' Coronel|url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=337185|publisher=Proceso|date=25 March 2013|access-date=October 2, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006145611/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=337185|url-status=dead}}
April 13 – Sinaloa Cartel high-ranking leader Javier Torres Félix is deported to Mexico after serving jail sentence in the U.S.{{cite news|title=Suspected Sinaloa cartel member deported from U.S. to Mexico|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/agencia-efe/130413/suspected-sinaloa-cartel-member-deported-us-mexico|access-date=26 June 2013|newspaper=GlobalPost|date=13 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628181140/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/agencia-efe/130413/suspected-sinaloa-cartel-member-deported-us-mexico|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 June 2013}}
April 30 – Inés Coronel Barreras, the father-in-law of Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán, Mexico's most-wanted drug lord, is arrested.{{cite news|last=Shoichet|first=Catherine E.|title=Mexico: Drug lord's father-in-law arrested|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/30/world/americas/mexico-chapo-family-arrest|access-date=14 June 2013|newspaper=CNN|date=30 April 2013|agency=Turner Broadcasting System|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502215153/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/30/world/americas/mexico-chapo-family-arrest|archive-date=May 2, 2013 }}
May 13 – Gulf Cartel high-ranking leader Aurelio Cano Flores is sentenced to 35 years in prison in the United States. He is the "highest ranking Gulf Cartel member to be convicted by a U.S. jury in the past 15 years."{{cite web|title=High Ranking Gulf Cartel Member Sentenced in Washington, D.C., to 35 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/May/13-crm-546.html|publisher=United States Department of Justice|access-date=30 June 2013|date=13 May 2013}}
May 14 – Former U.S. Marine Armando Torres III is kidnapped by gunmen in the state of Tamaulipas and is not heard of since then.{{cite news|last=Jauregui|first=Andres|title=Armando Torres, Marine, Kidnapped By Armed Men In Mexico: Family|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/18/armando-torres-marine-kidnapped-mexico_n_3298550.html|access-date=7 June 2013|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=18 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610012815/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/18/armando-torres-marine-kidnapped-mexico_n_3298550.html|archive-date=10 June 2013|url-status=live}}
May 26 – In broad daylight at a bar in Zona Rosa neighborhood in Mexico City, 12 young people were kidnapped.{{cite news|last=Stevenson|first=Mark|title=11 disappear from Mexico City bar; mass kidnapping suspected|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_23361806/11-disappear-from-mexico-city-bar-mass-kidnapping|access-date=2 June 2013|newspaper=San Jose Mercury News|date=31 May 2013|agency=The Associated Press}}
June 6 – The Mexican Army rescues 165 kidnapped migrants from a safe house in Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas.{{cite news|title=Mexico rescues 165 kidnapped migrants near US border|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22808369|access-date=14 June 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=6 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607014503/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22808369|url-status=live|archive-date=7 June 2013}}
July 7 – Mexicans go to the polls to cast their votes in the local elections. The voting season, however, was among the most violent in the country's history, with several politicians threatened, beaten, kidnapped, and/or killed in less than a month.{{cite news|last=Zablodovky|first=Karla|title=Mexico's Election Violence Is Said to Be Worst in Years|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/world/americas/mexicos-election-violence-is-said-to-be-worst-in-years.html|access-date=7 July 2013|newspaper=New York Times|date=6 July 2013}}{{cite news|last=Stevenson|first=Mark|title=Mexico Elections Along Border Raise Tempers, Fears|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/07/mexico-elections-border_n_3558070.html|access-date=7 July 2013|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=7 July 2013}}
July 15 – Los Zetas leader Miguel Treviño Morales is arrested by the Mexican Navy in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.{{cite news|title=US federal official: Top leader of Mexico's brutal Zetas drug cartel captured |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/us-federal-official-leader-of-mexicos-zetas-drug-cartel-captured/2013/07/15/85376a4c-edab-11e2-bb32-725c8351a69e_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=16 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716112610/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/us-federal-official-leader-of-mexicos-zetas-drug-cartel-captured/2013/07/15/85376a4c-edab-11e2-bb32-725c8351a69e_story.html |archive-date=July 16, 2013 }}
July 23 – Following six ambush attacks against the Mexican federal police in the state of Michoacán, 22 people were killed; two of them were law enforcement officials and the rest of them were alleged drug traffickers of the Knights Templar Cartel.{{cite news|title=More than 20 killed in clashes between Mexican police, armed gangs |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mexico-violence-idUKBRE96N05B20130724?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews |access-date=24 July 2013 |newspaper=Reuters |date=24 July 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130724100620/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/24/uk-mexico-violence-idUKBRE96N05B20130724?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews |archive-date=July 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |first=Elinor |last=Comlay }}
July 29 – Vice Admiral Carlos Miguel Salazar Ramonet of the Mexican Navy is killed by alleged gunmen of the Knights Templar Cartel in Michoacán. His death was regarded as the highest-profile killing of a member of the Mexican Armed Forces in the ongoing conflict against organized crime.{{cite news|last=Araizaga |first=Jorge |title=Michoacán, la emergencia; el DF, el reto |url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=349033 |access-date=2 August 2013 |newspaper=Proceso |date=1 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802045221/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=349033 |archive-date=August 2, 2013 |language=es |url-status=dead }}
August 9 – Former Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero is released from prison after a tribunal determined that he was tried improperly. He was one of the founders of the extinct Guadalajara Cartel and was responsible for the murder of U.S. Agent Enrique Camarena in 1985.{{cite news|title=Rafael Caro Quintero, infamous Mexican drug lord, ordered released after 28 years in prison|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57597792/rafael-caro-quintero-infamous-mexican-drug-lord-ordered-released-after-28-years-in-prison/|access-date=9 August 2013|newspaper=CBS News|date=9 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812035439/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57597792/rafael-caro-quintero-infamous-mexican-drug-lord-ordered-released-after-28-years-in-prison|archive-date=12 August 2013|url-status=dead}}
August 17 – Gulf Cartel leader Mario Ramírez Treviño, known by his aliases El Pelón and/or X-20, is arrested in a joint operation by the Mexican Army and Navy in Río Bravo, Tamaulipas.{{cite news|title=Mario Ramirez-Trevino, Mexico's Gulf Cartel leader, in custody, law enforcement sources say|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mario-ramirez-trevino-mexicos-gulf-cartel-leader-in-custody-law-enforcement-sources-say/|access-date=17 August 2013|newspaper=CBS News|date=17 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818152526/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57599008/mario-ramirez-trevino-mexicos-gulf-cartel-leader-in-custody-law-enforcement-sources-say/|url-status=live|archive-date=18 August 2013}}
September 2 – Juárez Cartel leader Alberto Carrillo Fuentes, alias Betty la Fea (Ugly Betty), is arrested in Bucerías, Nayarit. He is the brother of the deceased drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes, former leader of the criminal organization until his death in 1997.{{cite news|title=Mexican forces seize drug kingpin Alberto Carrillo Fuentes, alias 'Ugly Betty'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/10280466/Mexican-forces-seize-drug-kingpin-Alberto-Carrillo-Fuentes-alias-Ugly-Betty.html|access-date=2 September 2013|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108105347/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/10280466/Mexican-forces-seize-drug-kingpin-Alberto-Carrillo-Fuentes-alias-Ugly-Betty.html|archive-date=8 January 2014|url-status=live|location=London|first=Hannah|last=Strange}}
September 23 – Alleged members of La Línea, a gang controlled by the Juárez Cartel, burst into a party and kill 10 people in Ciudad Juárez. All of them were shot dead as they celebrated the victory of a baseball game held hours earlier near the city.{{cite news|last=Mayorga|first=Patricia|title=Alerta especial en Juárez tras la ejecución de 10 personas|url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=353594|access-date=25 September 2013|newspaper=Proceso|date=23 September 2013|language=es}}{{dead link|date=June 2016}}{{cbignore}}
October 18 – Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix, former leader of the Tijuana Cartel, is killed in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, by gunmen disguised as clowns.{{cite news|last=Martinez|first=Ignacio|title=Eldest of Mexico's Arellano Felix Clan Killed|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/eldest-mexicos-arellano-felix-clan-killed-20622380|access-date=19 October 2013|newspaper=ABC News|date=19 October 2013}}
November 20 – DEA agents arrest Serafín Zambada Ortiz, son of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, one of the Sinaloa Cartel's top leaders, as he tried to cross the international border from Sonora into Arizona.{{cite news|last=Davis|first=Kristina|title=Son of cartel leader arrested at border|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/nov/22/son-zambada-cartel-arrest-drug-indict-mexico/|access-date=23 November 2013|newspaper=U-T San Diego|date=22 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123053823/http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/nov/22/son-zambada-cartel-arrest-drug-indict-mexico/|url-status=live|archive-date=23 November 2013}}
December 1 – Mexican authorities unearth at least 67 corpses from clandestine mass graves in La Barca, Jalisco.{{cite news|title=Suman 67 cuerpos, fosas de Jalisco|url=http://noticieros.televisa.com/mexico/1311/son-ya-67-cuerpos-fosas-jalisco/|access-date=26 December 2013|newspaper=Televisa|date=1 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226235728/http://noticieros.televisa.com/mexico/1311/son-ya-67-cuerpos-fosas-jalisco/|archive-date=26 December 2013|url-status=live|language=es}}
December 6 – Following a massive excavation in the outskirts of Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexican authorities exhumed a total of 17 bodies.{{cite news|last=Saldaña|first=Henry|title=Concluyen búsqueda con 17 cuerpos en Zapopan|url=http://www.milenio.com/policia/fiscal_general-cuerpos-zapopan_0_203380171.html|access-date=7 December 2013|newspaper=Milenio|date=6 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209211417/http://www.milenio.com/policia/fiscal_general-cuerpos-zapopan_0_203380171.html|archive-date=9 December 2013|url-status=live|language=es}}
December 18 – High-ranking Sinaloa Cartel leader Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza (alias "El Macho Prieto") is killed by Mexican authorities in the resort area of Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. During the raging firefight that resulted in his death, several of his gunmen took his body from the scene.{{cite news|last=Alzaga|first=Ignacio|title=Roban cuerpo de operador de 'El Mayo'|url=http://www.milenio.com/policia/Roban-cuerpo-operador-Mayo_0_211179387.html|access-date=20 December 2013|newspaper=Milenio|date=19 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220130426/http://www.milenio.com/policia/Roban-cuerpo-operador-Mayo_0_211179387.html|archive-date=20 December 2013|url-status=live|language=es}}{{cite news|last=Marizo|first=Michel|title=Five Killed In Puerto Peñasco Tourist Zone Gun Battle|url=http://www.fronterasdesk.org/content/9351/five-killed-puerto-pe%C3%B1asco-tourist-zone-gun-battle|access-date=19 December 2013|newspaper=Fronteras Desk|date=18 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219213657/http://www.fronterasdesk.org/content/9351/five-killed-puerto-pe%C3%B1asco-tourist-zone-gun-battle|archive-date=19 December 2013|url-status=live}}
December 31 – El Chino Ántrax, a founder and high-ranking leader of Los Ántrax, an armed squadron of the Sinaloa Cartel, is arrested in the Netherlands.{{cite news|last=Gómez Licón|first=Adriana|title=Dutch police nab Sinaloa cartel top enforcer|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/03/dutch-police-nabs-sinaloa-cartel-top-enforcer/|access-date=4 January 2014|newspaper=UT-San Diego|date=3 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104204220/http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/03/dutch-police-nabs-sinaloa-cartel-top-enforcer/|archive-date=January 4, 2014 |url-status=live}}

=2014=

January 27 – Dionisio Loya Plancarte, one of the leaders of the Knights Templar Cartel, is arrested by Mexican security forces at his home in Morelia.{{cite news|last=Aguiar|first=Rodrigo|title=Fuerzas federales detienen al líder 'templario' Dionicio Loya Plancarte|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2014/01/27/fuerzas-federales-detienen-al-lider-templario-dionicio-loya-plancarte|access-date=28 January 2014|newspaper=CNNMéxico|date=27 January 2014|agency=Turner Broadcasting System|language=es}}
February 19 – Mexican authorities discover clandestine mass graves with at least 30 corpses in Gómez Farías, Tamaulipas. They believe that Los Zetas may be responsible for the mass murder. Local residents believe that there were at least 80 bodies in the area.{{cite news|title=Lluvias dejan al descubierto narcofosa en Tamaulipas con 30 cuerpos|url=http://diario.mx/Nacional/2014-02-18_298cde67/lluvias-dejan-al-descubierto-narcofosa-en-tamaulipas-con-30-cuerpos/|access-date=19 February 2014|newspaper=Diario de Juárez|date=19 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219150029/http://diario.mx/Nacional/2014-02-18_298cde67/lluvias-dejan-al-descubierto-narcofosa-en-tamaulipas-con-30-cuerpos/|archive-date=February 19, 2014 |language=es}}
February 22 – Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is arrested in a hotel in Mazatlán by Mexican authorities.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/world/americas/joaquin-guzman-loera-sinaloa-drug-cartel-leader-is-captured-in-mexico.html | work=The New York Times | first1=Randal C. | last1=Archibold | first2=Ginger | last2=Thompson | title=El Chapo, Most-Wanted Drug Lord, Is Captured in Mexico | date=February 22, 2014}}
March 9 – Nazario Moreno González, leader of the Knights Templar Cartel, and former leader of La Familia Michoacana, is killed in a shootout with Mexican authorities. The government formerly claimed to have killed Moreno in December 2010 when he was head of La Familia Michoacana.
March 31 – High-ranking Knights Templar Cartel leader Enrique Plancarte Solís is killed in a shootout with the Mexican Navy.{{cite news|title=Abaten en Querétaro a "Kike" Plancarte, líder de Los Templarios|url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=368580|access-date=1 April 2014|newspaper=Proceso|date=30 March 2014|archive-date=April 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403165228/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=368580|url-status=dead}}
May 11 – Galindo Mellado Cruz, one of the founders of Los Zetas, is killed in a shootout in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, with five other people.{{cite news|title=Mexico: A Zetas founder among 6 dead in shootout|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/05/11/zetas-founder-killed/8984223/|access-date=14 May 2014|newspaper=USA Today|date=11 May 2014}}
June 7 – Juan José Esparragoza Moreno, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, reportedly died of a heart attack following an accident he had suffered days earlier, injuring his vertebral column in a car wreck. This source is not confirmed by Mexican authorities.{{cite news|title=Reportan muerte de líder del cártel de Sinaloa conocido como El Azul|url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/2014/06/08/reportan-muerte-de-lider-del-cartel-de-sinaloa-conocido-como-el-azul-8738.html|work=La Jornada|date=8 June 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715021740/http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/2014/06/08/reportan-muerte-de-lider-del-cartel-de-sinaloa-conocido-como-el-azul-8738.html|archive-date=July 15, 2014|df=mdy-all}}
June 20 – At least 31 corpses are exhumed from clandestine mass graves in Tres Valles, Veracruz. The ranch where the bodies were found was previously owned by the former mayor of the town.{{cite news|title=Bodies from mass grave in Mexico bear signs of torture or mutilation|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/06/21/bodies-from-mass-grave-in-mexico-bear-signs-torture-or-mutilation/|access-date=25 June 2014|publisher=Fox News|date=21 June 2014}}
June 23 – Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano, leader of the Tijuana Cartel, is arrested at a fast food restaurant in Tijuana while watching the FIFA World Cup game between Mexico and Croatia.{{cite web|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/23/arellano-felix-fernando-sanchez-captured-tijuana/|title=Arellano drug gang leader captured in Tijuana - UTSanDiego.com|work=U-T San Diego|access-date=December 2, 2014}}
June 30 – A shootout between Mexican security forces and alleged gang members leaves 22 dead in Tlatlaya, State of Mexico.{{cite news|last1=Diaz|first1=Lizbeth|title=At least 22 killed in gunfight southwest of Mexico City|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-violence-idUSKBN0F52D920140630|access-date=1 July 2014|work=Reuters|date=30 June 2014}} The gunfight reportedly started after the suspected criminals opened fire at law enforcement who were patrolling the area.{{cite news|title=Balacera en Edomex deja 22 muertos|url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=376084|access-date=1 July 2014|publisher=Proceso|date=30 June 2014|language=es|archive-date=July 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703121100/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=376084|url-status=dead}}
27 September – 43 students disappeared in Iguala, Guerrero, after having been taken from the city by municipal police and handed over to the Guerreros Unidos criminal organization.{{cite news|title=En caso Iguala, delitos de lesa humanidad: CNDH|url=http://www.milenio.com/estados/Normal_de_Ayotzinapa-normalistas_de_Ayotzinapa-Iguala_Guerrero-Jose_Luis_Abarca_0_385761520.html|access-date=6 October 2014|newspaper=Milenio|date=6 October 2014|location=Mexico City|language=es}}
October 1 – Héctor Beltrán Leyva, leader of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, is arrested with another man inside a restaurant in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, by the Mexican Army.{{cite news|title=Detienen en San Miguel de Allende a Héctor Beltrán Leyva|url=http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2014/859979.html|newspaper=La Crónica de Hoy|date=2 October 2014|access-date=October 2, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006094300/http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2014/859979.html|url-status=dead}}
October 5 – At least 28 corpses are found in several clandestine mass graves in Iguala, Guerrero.{{cite news|title=Son 28 los cuerpos hallados en fosas de Iguala|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/2014/son-28-cuerpos-los-hallados-en-fosas-1043716.html|access-date=6 October 2014|newspaper=El Universal (Mexico City)|date=5 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006102820/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/2014/son-28-cuerpos-los-hallados-en-fosas-1043716.html|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=live|language=es}}

=2015=

January 7 – In Chilapa, Guerrero, security forces discovered 10 bodies and 11 severed heads in six clandestine mass graves. Most of victims were tied up, and the corpses bore signs of torture. Authorities did not comment if the heads belonged to the corpses.{{cite news|title=0 Bodies, 11 human heads found in clandestine graves in southern Mexico|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2015/01/07/10-bodies-11-human-heads-found-in-clandestine-graves-in-southern-mexico/|access-date=7 January 2015|agency=EFE|publisher=Fox News|date=7 January 2015}}
March 20 – An ambush attack from a criminal group left 11 dead in Ocotlán, Jalisco. Five of them were members of the Federal Police gendarmerie, three suspects, and three uninvolved civilians. This was the deadliest attack on Mexico's new gendarmerie.{{cite news|last1=Zamarroni|first1=Ulises|title=Mexico ambush kills 10, including 5 federal police|url=https://news.yahoo.com/mexico-ambush-leaves-10-dead-including-5-federal-153922587.html|access-date=21 March 2015|work=Yahoo! News|date=20 March 2015}}{{cite news|title=Policía Federal ajusta a 11 cifra de muertos tras emboscada en Ocotlán|url=http://www.24-horas.mx/policia-federal-ajusta-a-11-cifra-de-muertos-tras-emboscada-en-ocotlan/|access-date=21 March 2015|publisher=24 Horas|date=21 March 2015|language=es}}
April 6 – In San Sebastián del Oeste, Jalisco, gunmen ambushed and killed 15 police officers. Five more were wounded in the attack. It was the highest single mass killing against Mexico's police force since 2010.{{cite news|title=Mexico police ambush leaves 15 officers dead and five injured in Jalisco state|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/07/mexico-police-attack-jalisco-15-dead|access-date=7 April 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|date=7 April 2015}}{{cite news|title=Confirma fiscalía de Jalisco 15 policías muertos en emboscada|url=http://www.milenio.com/policia/balacera_San_Sebastian_Oeste-Fuerza_Unica_Jalisco-policias_muertos_jalisco_0_495550536.html|access-date=7 April 2015|newspaper=Milenio|date=7 April 2015|language=es}}
May 1 – In Jalisco state, a massive attack by cartels struck with blockades, fire stations burned, chopper down and resulting in at least 7 dead.{{cite news|title=Jalisco en "código rojo" por quema de vehículos y ataques|language=es|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2015/05/01/la-fiscalia-de-jalisco-reporta-vehiculos-incendiados|access-date=1 May 2015|publisher=CNN|date=May 1, 2015}}
May 3 – 11 rural workers from Sinaloa disappeared while on their way to Hermosillo, Sonora, for a summer-time work.{{cite news|last1=Badilla|first1=Jesús|title=El periodismo necesita inversión. Comparte este artículo utilizando los íconos que aparecen en la página. La reproducción de este contenido sin autorización previa está prohibida.|url=http://www.milenio.com/policia/jornaleros_desaparecidos-pescadores_desaparecidos-desaparecidos_Sonora_0_513548954.html|access-date=9 May 2015|newspaper=Milenio|date=9 May 2015|language=es}}
May (between 9 and 14) – In Chilapa, Guerrero, 10 people went missing after armed men took over the town for several days. According to local residents, the armed men claimed to be community policemen and said they overran the town to protect residents from gang violence.{{cite news|title=Policías comunitarios no desaparecieron gente en Chilapa: PF|url=http://www.milenio.com/estados/desaparecidos_Chilpa-PF_documenta_desaparecidos_Chilapa-Chilapa_policias_0_522547794.html|newspaper=Milenio|date=22 May 2015|location=Mexico City|language=es}}{{cite news|title=Mexico investigates new Guerrero disappearances|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32840333|work=BBC News|date=22 May 2015}}
May 22 – A shootout between alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Federal Police left 43 dead in Tanhuato, Michoacán.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32852767|title=Mexico gang shoot-out leaves dozens dead|date=23 May 2015|publisher=BBC}}
July 12 – Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán escapes from the maximum security prison of Altiplano, for a second time in his career. He escaped through a 1.5 kilometre long tunnel under the shower in his cell, where the cameras could not follow him. The tunnel ended in a little village nearby, and El Chapo used a motorbike to get out fast. After his escape he was placed by Mexican authorities again on the top spot of most wanted men in the country, offering a US$3.5 million reward for whoever has information about his whereabouts.
December 6 – Rogelio González Pizaña, a high ranked leader and founding member of Los Zetas, is murdered along with his family. The assassination was allegedly carried out by those working for the Gulf Cartel.{{Cite news|url=https://www.elsiglodedurango.com.mx/noticia/630809.ejecutan-a-un-fundador-de-los-zetas-en-matamoros.html|title=Ejecutan a un fundador de los 'Zetas' en Matamoros|date=December 6, 2015|work=El Siglo de Durango|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212012855/https://www.elsiglodedurango.com.mx/noticia/630809.ejecutan-a-un-fundador-de-los-zetas-en-matamoros.html|archive-date=12 December 2015|language=es}}

=2016=

January 8 – Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán is recaptured and 5 gunmen killed in raid codenamed Operation Black Swan in Los Mochis, Sinaloa.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
January 29 – 2 Sinaloa Cartel members killed, 22 arrested in joint Mexican-American Operation Diablo Express in Sonoyta, Sonora, and Lukeville, Arizona.{{Cite web|title=24 members of El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel captured along Arizona border in 'Operation Diablo Express'|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/24-high-ranking-members-sinaloa-drug-cartel-arrested-article-1.2515437|date=2016-01-31|publisher=The Associated Press|access-date=2016-03-05}}
March 14 – At least nine suspected cartel members died in gunfights with government forces during an anti-cartel operation in the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas.http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/regional_news/latin-america/suspected-cartel-members-killed-in-mexico-border-city/article_0d74dfba-b4ef-52e3-9859-823214654bd1.html {{dead link|date=February 2018}}
May - Julio Cesar Olivas Felix alias "Abc" alleged cocaine trafficker considered one of the partners of "El Chapo" Guzmán at the Sinaloa Cartel was arrested in Malpensa Airport at Milan.{{cite web|title=Olivas Felix, superboss della droga, arrestato domenica alla Malpensa|url=http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cronache/olivas-felix-superboss-droga-arrestato-domenica-malpensa-1266335.html|work=IlGiornale.it|date=1 June 2016}}

=2017=

20 January – Juan Pablo Pérez García (alias "El Oaxaco" and "Bravo 01") a senior leader of the enforcement wing of the Old School Zetas is arrested near the border of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas.{{cite web|title=Tamaulipas: "El Oaxaco" aka "Bravo 1" Arrested, of the Old School Zetas|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2017/01/el-oaxaco-aka-bravo-1-arrested-of-old.html|date=24 January 2017|access-date=17 February 2019|work=Itzil|publisher=Borderland Beat}}
21, 22 January – A taxi in Manzanillo, Colima, is found to contain the decapitated bodies of 6 men and 1 woman on January 21. The taxi is covered in a narco message, which is rumored to have claimed responsibility on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel of CJNG and that the deceased where members of the Sinaloa Cartel. The following day on January 22 another five bodies are found, along with an additional narco message this time saying that the deceased where members of the CJNG and threatening more violence as an apparent reprisal for the previous days event. Just as with the seven deceased found in the taxi, the five deceased bodies found the following day also show signs of torture and decapitation.{{cite web|title=Colima:Saturday 7 decapitated Bodies discovered in taxi, Sunday 5 more|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2017/01/colimasaturday-7-decapitated-bodies.html|date=23 January 2017|access-date=17 February 2019|work=Javier|publisher=Borderland Beat}}
8 October – Pedro Payán Gloria (alias "El Pifas") a member of Los Aztecas gang is sentenced to 430 years in prison. Payán Gloria along with several others was convicted of kidnapping and drugging 11 women between 2009 and 2012 in Ciudad Juárez, after which the women would be forced into prostitution and ultimately murdered by Payán Gloria and his gang.{{cite news|title=Le dan 430 años por homicidio de 11 mujeres en Chihuahua|url=https://www.milenio.com/policia/430-anos-homicidio-11-mujeres-chihuahua|newspaper=Milenio|author=Juan José García Amaro|language=es|date=9 October 2017|access-date=15 February 2019}}
11 October – Sajid Emilio Quintero Navidad (alias "El Cadete") is arrested at the San Ysidro Border Crossing by American marshals. Quintero Navidad is the cousin of Rafael Caro Quintero and was formally a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, before switching to the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel in 2014, where he became in charge of drug trafficking in Sonora and across the American border.{{cite web|title=Detienen en Estados Unidos a Sajid Emilio Quintero, primo de Caro Quintero|url=http://riodoce.mx/noticias/detienen-en-estados-unidos-a-sajid-emilio-quintero-primo-de-caro-quintero|date=27 October 2017|access-date=15 February 2019|language=es|first=Alejandro|last=Monjardín|publisher=RioDoce}} In addition to drug trafficking Quintero Navidad was wanted by Mexico for the murder of singer Tito Torbellino and in the United States for the murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. He is one of the highest ranking cartel leaders to be arrested in the United States.{{cite news|last1=Cone|first1=Allen|title=High-ranking Mexican cartel leader arraigned|url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/10/28/High-ranking-Mexican-cartel-leader-arraigned/6291509201786/|access-date=30 October 2017|work=UPI|publisher=United Press International|date=28 October 2017|language=en}}
11 October – 17 inmates are killed and 37 injured in a riot at a prison in Cadereyta Jiménez, Nuevo León.{{cite web|title=Suman 17 muertos en penal de Cadereyta; la CNDH recrimina al gobierno de NL su falta de atención|url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/507219/suman-17-muertos-en-penal-cadereyta-la-cndh-recrimina-al-gobierno-nl-falta-atencion|language=es|work=LA REDACCIÓN|publisher=Proceso|date=12 October 2019|access-date=15 February 2019|archive-date=February 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216153448/https://www.proceso.com.mx/507219/suman-17-muertos-en-penal-cadereyta-la-cndh-recrimina-al-gobierno-nl-falta-atencion|url-status=dead}} The attack was allegedly instigated when inmates belonging to Los Zetas attempted to take over the prison, sparking a violent reaction by inmates belong to rival groups.{{cite web|title=Mexico Prison Massacre Linked to Zetas Takeover Allegations|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/mexico-prison-massacre-linked-to-zetas-takeover-allegations/|first=James|last=Bargent|date=11 October 2019|access-date=15 February 2019|publisher=InSight Crime}}
23 October – Sergio Meza Flores (alias "El Soruyo") a senior member of Los Zetas is killed in a confrontation with police in Tabasco. Meza Flores was wanted for extortion, fuel theft, and executions in Tabasco and Veracruz.{{cite news|title=Muere en balacera 'El Soruyo', líder zeta en Tabasco|url=https://www.milenio.com/policia/muere-balacera-soruyo-lider-zeta-tabasco|newspaper=Milenio|language=es|date=23 October 2017|access-date=15 February 2019}}
29 October – Julio César Escárcega Murillo (alias "El Tigre" and "El 109") is arrested along with his bodyguards in Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua. Rifles, pistols, and a grenade launcher were found with the group.{{cite news|title=Detienen a presunto líder del Nuevo Cártel del Tigre en Chihuahua|url=https://noticieros.televisa.com/ultimas-noticias/detienen-presunto-lider-nuevo-cartel-tigre-chihuahua/|date=29 October 2017|access-date=15 February 2019|language=es|publisher=Televisa News|first=Francisco|last=Javier Carmona}} Escárcega Murillo was recently appointed Nuevo Cartel del Tigre after the death of its previous leader, and the group was suspected of multiple homicides area in addition to drug trafficking.{{cite web|title=El 109 leader of Los Tigres cartel arrested in Chihuahua

|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2017/10/el-109-leader-of-los-tigres-cartel.html|date=30 October 2017|access-date=15 February 2019|work=Otis B Fly-Wheel|publisher=Borderland Beat}}

30 October – The bodies of 5 men and 1 woman are found dumped by the side of a federal highway four kilometers from Loma Bonita, Oaxaca. All 6 bodies show signs that they were tortured and executed. A note found by the bodies claims responsibly on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. More than 40 bodies had been found the previous month in similar conditions in Veracruz.{{cite web|title=Encuentran seis cuerpos ejecutados en Loma Bonita, Oaxaca|url=http://www.noreste.net/noticia/encuentran-seis-cuerpos-ejecutados-en-loma-bonita-oaxaca/|language=es|date=30 October 2017|access-date=15 February 2019|publisher=Noreste|first=Jorge|last=Hernández|work=Nota Roja|archive-date=February 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216153258/http://www.noreste.net/noticia/encuentran-seis-cuerpos-ejecutados-en-loma-bonita-oaxaca/|url-status=dead}}
19 November – U.S. border patrol agent Rogelio Martinez is killed and his colleague wounded in the border closest to the area of Van Horn, Texas.{{cite web|title=United States Border Agent killed on the Texas Border|publisher=Borderland Beat|work=Otis B Fly-Wheel|date=20 November 2017}}
25 November – Dismembered body parts are found in Poza Rica. The bodies show signs of torture and indicates the individuals were alive at the time of dismemberment, where they were decapitated and their limbs and torsos were cut up into multiple parts. Sicaros were caught by the police while in the process of laying out the bodies in a public space along with propaganda posters. Four of the perpetrators were cornered in their vehicle and killed in a shootout, however the others escaped.{{cite web|title=Noche sangrienta en Poza Rica, tiran varios cuerpos desmembrados y abaten a 4 sicarios|url=http://www.noreste.net/noticia/tiran-cuatro-cuerpos-desmembrados-en-poza-rica1/|publisher=Noreste|date=25 November 2017|access-date=15 February 2019|archive-date=February 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216153333/http://www.noreste.net/noticia/tiran-cuatro-cuerpos-desmembrados-en-poza-rica1/|url-status=dead}}
26 November – 26 people are executed or murdered in various places in a three-day crime spree in Veracruz. The murder victims include Victor Manuel Espinoza Tolentino, mayor of Ixhuatlán de Madero, and his wife.{{cite web|title=Dejan cuatro desmembrados en Poza Rica; suman 21 muertos este fin de semana en Veracruz|url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/512665/dejan-cuatro-desmembrados-en-poza-rica-suman-21-muertos-este-fin-semana-en-veracruz|publisher=Proceso|first=Noé|last=Zavaleta|date=26 November 2017|access-date=16 February 2019|language=es|archive-date=February 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217030205/https://www.proceso.com.mx/512665/dejan-cuatro-desmembrados-en-poza-rica-suman-21-muertos-este-fin-semana-en-veracruz|url-status=dead}}
28 November – Two ice-coolers containing narco cartulina are found in different locations of Guadalajara. One of the coolers, left outside a TV station, contains two human heads. The cartulinas carry threats against the police chief and judge on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.{{cite web|title=Abandonan hieleras con dos cabezas humanas y narcomensajes en Guadalajara|author=Gloria Reza M.|url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/512989/abandonan-hieleras-dos-cabezas-humanas-narcomensajes-en-guadalajara|publisher=Proceso|date=28 November 2017|access-date=16 February 2019|language=es}}

=2018=

27 January – Operation by the Mexican navy kills four armed individuals in Reynosa. One of the people killed is suspected to be Humberto Steven Loza Méndez, aka Betito or Betillo, a senior commander in the Gulf Cartel.{{cite web|title=Reports of commander "Betito" killed in Reynosa shootout with Marina|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/01/reports-of-commander-betito-killed-in.html|work=El Mañana and Menytimes|publisher=Borderland Beat|first=Chivis|last=Martinez|date=28 January 2018|access-date=28 January 2019}} Loza Méndez's family latter confirms his identity.{{cite web|title=Family of "Betito" travel from Texas to identify his body in Reynosa Tamaulipas |url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/01/family-of-betito-travel-from-texas-to.html|work=El Mañana|publisher=Borderland Beat|first=Chivis|last=Martinez|date=29 January 2018|access-date=28 January 2019}}
29 January – Three individuals are arrested for planning and executing a massacre in San Nicolás, Nuevo León, a day before. The 3 stormed a house and shot 12 people while they were watching a football game, killing 9 and injuring 3. It is suspected the attack was in retaliation for drugs being sold at the house without permission from the local gang.{{cite web|title=9 killed : Another suspect arrested, implicated in San Nicolás massacre|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/01/9-killed-another-suspect-arrested.html|date=29 January 2018|access-date=28 January 2019|work=Borderland Beat|first=Chivis|last=Martinez}}
30 January – Eight individuals (6 men and 2 women) are found decapitated, dismembered, and dumped into plastic bags close to the Chilapa River.{{cite web|title=Six men and two women found dismembered and decapitated in Chilapa|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/01/six-men-and-two-women-found-dismembered.html|date=31 January 2018|access-date=28 January 2019|work=Borderland Beat}}
31 January – The Mexico-Acapulco federal highway is shut down for several days due to violence. It is believed to have started when the UPOEG (a paramilitary group in Guerrero) kidnapped a suspected drug dealer who was part of Los Ardillos. In retaliation Los Ardillos murder four UPOEG members and burn their corpses. Five other people are injured; villagers are believed to have sided with the cartel against UPOEG as the heroin trade runs through the area.{{cite web|title=Secuestro de presunto narco desata ataques armados en Guerrero; mueren cuatro miembros de la UPOEG|url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/520591/secuestro-de-presunto-narco-desata-ataques-armados-en-guerrero-mueren-cuatro-miembros-de-la-upoeg|date=30 January 2018|access-date=28 January 2019|language=es|publisher=Proceso|author=Ezequiel Flores Contreras}}
9 February – José María Guízar Valencia (alias "Z-43") is arrested in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City. Guízar Valencia was one of the new leaders of Los Zetas and had a $5m reward by the American government for drug trafficking. He is also suspected of ordering murders in Guatemala.{{cite news|title=Mexico: Zetas drugs cartel leader caught|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43011495|date=9 February 2018|access-date=28 January 2019}}
21 February – 21 people are injured, mostly tourists in a blast aboard a Tour Boat. A Narco Manta erected in Playa del Carmen on 27 February taking responsibility for the bombing as well as mocking and threatening the mayor.{{cite web|title="FUIMOS NOSOTROS": EN PRESUNTA NARCOMANTA SE ATRIBUYEN EXPLOSIÓN EN BARCO Y LANZAN AMENAZAS CONTRA ALCALDESA DE COZUMEL|url=https://noticaribe.com.mx/2018/02/27/fuimos-nosotros-en-presunta-narcomanta-se-atribuyen-explosion-en-barco-y-lanzan-amenazas-contra-alcaldesa-de-cozumel/|language=es|date=27 February 2018|access-date=28 January 2019|publisher=Noticaribe}}
12 June – 2018 Chimney Canyon shootout: a shootout between drug smugglers and U.S. border patrol occurs in a remote area near Arivaca, Arizona, close to the border.{{Cite web|title=Border Patrol agent shot near Arivaca in 'good spirits'; little known about shooter|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2018/06/13/border-patrol-agent-shot-near-arivaca-recovering/698476002/|date=2018-06-13|author=Rafael Carranza|publisher=The Republic|access-date=2018-06-14}}
30 July – José Guadalupe Rodríguez Castillo (alias 'El 15') is arrested by Mexican authorities. He is a leader in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and wanted for the disappearance and presumed murder of 3 Italian businessmen in the Southern Jalisco town of Tecalitlán in January 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2018/07/30/mexico/1532963801_762654.html|title=Capturado un capo mexicano relacionado con la desaparición de tres italianos en Jalisco|work=El Pais|access-date=July 30, 2018|language=es}}
11 September – 32 clandestine graves are discovered in the municipality of Alvarado in Veracruz. Up to 174 remains of people who were murdered and buried who were found in the graves by forensic scientists, who estimate the graves to be one to two years old. The deceased are believed to be the victims of the conflict between Los Zetas and Jalisco New Generation Cartel in the area.{{cite web|title=Veracruz: Massive Numbers in Clandestine Graves|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/09/veracruz-massive-numbers-in-clandestine.html|date=11 September 2018|access-date=19 August 2019|publisher=Borderland Beat|work=Animal Politico}}
28 September – Leonel Salgueiro, alias "El Cuate", is captured in Parral, Chihuahua. Salgueiro is suspected of being leader and drug trafficker of the Sinaloa Cartel.{{cite web|title=Sinaloa Leader "EL Cuate" captured in Parral|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/09/sinaloa-leader-el-cuate-captured-in.html|publisher=Borderland Beat|first=Chivis|last=Martinez|date=28 September 2018|access-date=19 August 2019}}
30 September – Erick Samuel Deraz González, alias "Güero Canesten", is assassinated at a soccer field in Tijuana. He was the second in command for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel division in Tijuana, with the murder believed to be carried out by a rival cartel.{{cite web|title=Executed:: "Güero Canesten", of CJNG in Tijuana|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/09/execute-guero-canesten-of-cjng-in.html|publisher=Borderland Beat|first=Chivis|last=Martinez|date=30 September 2018|access-date=19 August 2019}}
30 October – David Garcia, alias "El Pistache", is arrest along with two other after a gunfight in Santa Fe, Mexico City. Garcia was the leader of a drug and weapon smuggling cartel named La Unión Tepito.{{cite web|title=Successor to Betito, "El Pistache", leader of La Unión Tepito is arrested|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/10/successor-to-betito-el-pistache-leader.html|publisher=Borderland Beat|first=Chivis|last=Martinez|date=30 October 2018|access-date=19 August 2019}}
27 November – David Velasquéz Ramírezm, alias "El Greñas", sometimes also known as "El Grandote", is arrested along with several other in Aguascalientes. Velasquéz is suspected of being the ringleader of a criminal group called "Los Aztecas", infamous for hiring themselves out as hitmen for cartels and suspected to have murdered several police chiefs and politicians.{{cite web|title=Capturan a Jefe de Sicarios de "Los Aztecas" que se escondía en Aguascalientes|url=http://binoticias.com/nota.cfm?id=41890&t=capturan-a-jefe-de-sicarios-de-los-aztecas-que-se-escondia-en-aguascalientes|language=es|author=Juan Luis Díaz|publisher=BI Noticias|date=27 November 2018|access-date=19 August 2019|archive-date=August 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801144139/http://binoticias.com/nota.cfm?id=41890&t=capturan-a-jefe-de-sicarios-de-los-aztecas-que-se-escondia-en-aguascalientes|url-status=dead}}
2 December – At approximately 7:30 CST, 2 grenades were thrown at the American consulate in Guadalajara, with one of the grenades exploding and forming a 16-inch hole in the wall of the building. At the time of the bombing, the consulate was closed and no injuries were sustained. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is suspected of the attack.{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/grenade-attack-at-us-consulate-in-mexico-may-have-been-cartel-hit|title=Grenade attack at US Consulate in Mexico may have been cartel hit|last=McKay|first=Hollie|date=2018-12-01|work=Fox News|access-date=2018-12-03|language=en-US}}
21 December – Carlos Díaz Meza (alias 'El 5') is assassinated by two armed men with assault rifles at his residence in Guachochi. Diaz was in command of several battalions of the Sinaloa Cartel, and is the brother of Melquiades Díaz Meza (alias 'El Chapo Calin'), a high-ranking commander of the same cartel. Authorities believe the assassination is due to a power struggle between two families in the area for control of the cartel and fear the event could lead to more violence.{{cite web|title=Chihuahua/Guachochi: Carlos Díaz Meza "El 5" of Sinaloa Cartel Executed|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2018/12/chihuahuaguachochi-carlos-diaz-meza-el.html|date=23 December 2018|access-date=1 February 2019|publisher=Borderland Beat|work=Oaxaqueño}}

=2019=

1 January – Alejandro Aparicio Santiago, the recently elected mayor of Tlaxiaco, is shot and killed just hours after being sworn in.{{cite news|last1=Steinbuch|first1=Yuran|title=Mexican mayor shot dead on his first day in office |url=https://nypost.com/2019/01/02/mexican-mayor-shot-dead-on-his-first-day-in-office/|access-date=6 January 2019|newspaper=New York Post|date=2 January 2019}} On the same day María Ascención Torres Cruz, a local official is also murdered. Both politicians were of the MORENA party.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thisisinsider.com/mexican-mayor-shot-dead-first-day-in-office-2019-1|title=A Mexican mayor was shot dead on his first day in office|last=Shamsian|first=Jacob|website=INSIDER|access-date=2019-01-04}}
3 January – Four bodies are found on the outskirts of Fresnillo. The deceased died from gunshots wounds although all bodies showed signs of torture. In the preceding weeks two other bodies had been found in similar condition. While the perpetrator remains unknown, authorities believe it is highly likely that the murders came as a result of the recent violence between rival cartels for control of the Zacatecas drug trade.{{cite web|title=Zacatecas/Fresnillo: Four Young Men Found Executed at Roadside|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2019/01/zacatecasfresnillo-four-young-men-found.html|work=Borderland Beat|date=3 January 2019|access-date=28 January 2019}}
6 January – Two gunmen with assault rifles kill 7 people at a bar in Playa del Carmen.{{cite web|title=MASACRE EN BAR DE VILLAS DEL SOL: SALDO PRELIMINAR DE SIETE MUERTOS POR ATAQUE EN EL ANTRO 'LAS VIRGINIAS' EN COLONIA DE PLAYA DEL CARMEN|url=https://noticaribe.com.mx/2019/01/06/masacre-en-bar-de-villas-del-sol-saldo-preliminar-de-siete-muertos-por-ataque-en-el-antro-las-virginias-en-colonia-de-playa-del-carmen/|date=6 January 2019|access-date=28 January 2019|publisher=Noticaribe|language=es}}
10 January – 19 bodies, many burned beyond recognition, are discovered in Tamaulipas near the border area. It is believed that the bodies belong to members of an organized crime group murdered and disposed of by rivals.{{cite web|title=Up to 20 bodies found burned in Tamaulipas after clash between CDN and CDG|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2019/01/up-to-20-bodies-found-burned-in.html|work=Borderland Beat|date=10 January 2019|access-date=28 January 2019}}
31 January – At the border checkpoint near Nogales, Arizona, in the United States, a truck coming from Mexico is stopped and found to be carrying 254 pounds of fentanyl under its load of cucumbers. This is the largest ever drug bust containing this specific kind of opioid, and the truck also contained 395 pounds of methamphetamine. The total value of the load is estimated to be more than 5 million US dollars.{{cite web|title=US border agency says it's made biggest-ever fentanyl bust|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article225338005.html|first=Anita|last=Snow|date=31 January 2019|access-date=1 February 2019|agency=Associated Press|publisher=Miami Herald}}
1 February – 6 people are killed, and 4 hostages are freed when police confront the alleged kidnappers. 2 of the dead are believed to be citizens killed in the crossfire. 12 of the alleged kidnappers escape, the incident is believed to be linked to organized crime.{{cite web|title=6 muertos y 4 heridos tras operativo para rescatar a secuestrado, en Playa Vicente|trans-title=6 dead and 4 injured after operation to rescue the kidnapped, in Playa Vicente|date=1 February 2019|access-date=1 February 2019|publisher=Sucesos los Tuxtlas|language=es|url=https://www.sucesoslostuxtlas.com/6-muertos-y-4-heridos-tras-operativo-para-rescatar-a-secuestrado-en-playa-vicente/}}
12 February – Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán is found guilty in American court on all 10 counts; the charges include engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to launder narcotics proceeds, international distribution of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and other drugs, and illegal use and distribution of fire arms.{{cite web|title=El Chapo Guzman Trial Verdict|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/12/us/el-chapo-guzman-trial-verdict/index.html|date=12 February 2019|access-date=12 February 2019|publisher=CNN}}
15 February – Members of the Northeast Cartel record and post on social media the interrogation and decapitation of two suspected members of the Gulf cartels. The heads, rest of the remains are found in Escobedo, Nuevo León, along with a narco message. The discovery follows a trend of decapitations as two heads were discovered in a sack in Ciénega de Flores three days before, with other severed heads left in public spaces, often close to prisons, in the state of Nuevo León in the previous weeks.{{cite web|title=CDN records interrogation of members of the Gulf Cartel before decapitating them|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2019/02/cdn-records-interrogation-of-members-of.html#more|date=15 February 2019|access-date=15 February 2019|work=Borderland Beat}}
17 April - {{Interlanguage link|Mario Estrada|es}}, a presidential candidate in the 2019 Guatemalan general election, is captured in the United States because of his alleged connections with the Sinaloa Cartel. The United States Department of Justice says in a statement that Estrada had requested the murder of political rivals to win the presidency in exchange for granting control of airports and sea ports in Guatemala to the Sinaloa Cartel. The presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 16.{{cite news|title=Mario Estrada es detenido en EE. UU. por nexos con el cartel de Sinaloa|url=https://www.prensalibre.com/guatemala/politica/mario-estrada-es-detenido-en-estados-unidos-por-nexos-con-narcotrafico|newspaper=Prensa Libre|language=es|date=17 April 2019|access-date=18 April 2019|first1=Irving|last1=Escobar|first2=Manuel|last2=Hernández}}
4 July - Juan Ulises Galván Carmona, alias “El Buda”, was killed by two hitmen in a convenience store in Chetumal, the capital of Quintana Roo, along Mexico's Caribbean coast.{{Cite web|url=http://www.noticiaschetumal.com/2019/07/04/ejecutan-en-chetumal-a-juan-ulises-galvan-carmona-operador-de-el-chapo-guzman/|title = Ejecutan en Chetumal a Juan Ulises Galván Carmona, operador de el Chapo Guzmán – Noticias Chetumal| date=July 4, 2019 }} El Buda served as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel's drug trafficking activities and shipments from Central and South America.{{Cite web|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/jalisco-cartel-winning-battle-mexico-caribbean/|title=Is the Jalisco Cartel Winning the Battle for Mexico's Caribbean?|date=July 11, 2019}}
9 August - Nine bodies are found hanging from a bridge and two other locations in the city of Uruapan in the state of Michoacán. The killings are believed to be perpetrated by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel due to a banner found on the bridge baring the group's initial's and a threat to a rival cartel.{{cite news|title=Mexico violence: Nine bodies found hanging from bridge|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49289716|date=9 August 2019|access-date=10 August 2019|work=BBC News}} By the end of the week a total of 20 bodies had been discovered.{{cite web|title=Uruapan Mich: 20 Bodies Found Dismembered or Hanging from Bridges Thanks to CJNG|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2019/08/uruapan-mich-20-bodies-found.html|date=8 August 2019|access-date=18 August 2019|publisher=Borderland Beat}}
12 August - In two separate operations the Mexican Marines seize 2.1 tons of cocaine, and the Mexican army confiscates another 450 kilos in operations of the coast of Chiapas.{{cite web|title=Marina decomisa 1.2 toneladas de cocaína en costas de Chiapas|url=https://mvsnoticias.com/noticias/estados/marina-decomisa-1-2-toneladas-de-cocaina-en-costas-de-chiapas/|publisher=MSV Noticias|language=es|date=12 August 2019|access-date=17 August 2019|first=Rosario|last=Coutiño|work=MVS Noticias }}
13 August - Roberto Domínguez Trejo, better known as “Beto Trejo”, the lead singer of a narcocorrido band called "Los Hijos del Cartel" (sons of the cartel) is assassinated in his car while at a gas station in Tijuana. His wife and child were also in the car but unharmed.{{cite web|title=FUERTES IMÁGENES: Frente a su esposa y su bebé ejecutan a otro cantante de narcocorridos|url=https://www.radioformula.com.mx/noticias/20190814/beto-trejo-ejecutan-tijuana-narcocorridos-familia-esposa-bebe-gasolinera/|date=14 August 2019|access-date=17 August 2019|language=es|first=Mariana|last=Cervantes|archive-date=August 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818035709/https://www.radioformula.com.mx/noticias/20190814/beto-trejo-ejecutan-tijuana-narcocorridos-familia-esposa-bebe-gasolinera/|url-status=dead}}
15 August - in two separate incidents the U.S. Coast Guard seize more than 6,700 pounds of cocaine in two separate incidents near Pascagoula, Mississippi. The seized content had a value of $89 million dollars.{{cite web|title=Coast Guard's newest national security cutter makes second cocaine seizure within five days, 4,600 pounds of cocaine interdicted|url=https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCG/bulletins/258cfdd|work=U.S. Coast Guard|date=15 August 2019|access-date=17 August 2019}}
28 August - At least 25 people have been killed while 11 others are injured in a bar fire in Coatzacoalcos in the state of Veracruz. Mexican police announced that the fire was intentionally set by cartel members who also blocked the exits.{{cite news|title=Mexico bar attack leaves 25 dead|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49494019|date=28 August 2019|access-date=28 August 2019|work=BBC News}}
14 September - Claudia Ochoa Félix reputed by the authorities, the leader of the murder squad Los Ántrax by the personal relation with the founder José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa alias "El Chino Ántrax" was found dead in her private residence in Culiacán due to apparent pulmonary aspiration caused by a drug overdose.{{Cite web|url=http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2019/09/claudia-ochoa-la-emperatriz-de-los.html|title=Claudia Ochoa "La Emperatriz De Los Ántrax' dead|last=Borderland Beat Reporter Chivis|access-date=2019-09-17}}
23 September - Ramon Cristobal Santoyo alias "Dr. Wagner" alleged cocaine trafficker considered one of the partners of "El Chapo" Guzmán at the Sinaloa Cartel was arrested at Rome's Fiumicino airport on August 20.{{cite web|title=El Chapo partner held at Rome airport|url=http://www.ansa.it/english/news/general_news/2019/09/23/el-chapo-partner-held-at-rome-airport_873fabd6-afaa-48a1-8cfc-0e1711250afe.html|work=Ansa.it|date=23 September 2019}}
28 September - Carlos "N." alias "El Chicken" was captured by the Mexican authorities in Zapopan, partner of Gonzalo Mendoza alias "El Sapo" boss of the occidental region of Jalisco and important figure of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.{{cite web|title=Fuerte golpe al CJNG: detienen a "El Chicken" y decomisan arsenal en Jalisco|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2019/09/29/fuerte-golpe-al-cjng-detienen-a-el-chicken-y-decomisan-arsenal-en-jalisco/|work=Infobae.com|date=28 September 2019}}{{cite web|title=Detienen a presunto reclutador del Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación|url=https://www.milenio.com/policia/cartel-jalisco-detienen-a-presunto-reclutador|work=Milenio.com|date=28 September 2019}}
14 October - Fourteen state police officers are killed in an ambush in Aguililla, Michoacán; crime-scene evidence points to the involvement of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.{{cite news|title=Fourteen police dead in Mexico gun ambush|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50049142|date=14 October 2019|access-date=14 October 2019|work=BBC News}}{{cite news|title=Al menos 14 policías muertos tras ser emboscados en Aguililla, Michoacán|url=https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/atacan-convoy-de-la-policia-estatal-en-michoacan-reportan-tres-muertos|language=es|date=14 October 2019|access-date=14 October 2019|newspaper=El Universal (Mexico City)|first=Carlos|last=Arrieta}}
18 October – Battle of Culiacán: The Mexican National Guard arrests Ovidio Guzmán López, alias "El Raton", a son of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, in Culiacán. He, however, was released shortly later as government forces come under intense attack and are overpowered by Sinaloa Cartel gunmen, according to Security Minister Alfonso Durazo.{{cite news|title=El Chapo: Mexican police free drug lord's son as Culiacán battle erupts|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50092641|date=18 October 2019|access-date=18 October 2019|work=BBC News}}
4 November - 2019 Sonora massacre: Nine members of a Mormon family, including six children, were killed by gunmen in Sonora.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/at-least-seven-members-of-mormon-family-brutally-killed-in-northern-mexico/2019/11/05/d303e448-ffbb-11e9-9518-1e76abc088b6_story.html|title=Nine members of Mormon family, dual U.S.-Mexican citizens, killed in attack in northern Mexico; Trump offers support|last=Sheridan|first=Mary Beth|date=5 November 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post}}
1 December – 2019 Villa Unión shootout: In clashes and shootouts between Mexican police and suspected cartel members in the northern town Villa Unión, Coahuila, at least 21 people are killed.{{cite web|title=Shootouts in northern Mexican town kill 21, fueling debate on cartels|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-violence/shootouts-in-northern-mexican-town-kill-21-fueling-debate-on-cartels-idUSKBN1Y515O?il=0|date=1 December 2019|access-date=1 December 2019|work=Reuters|first=Dave|last=Graham}}

2020-present

=2020=

8 January – 41 homicides are reported in the first 8 days of the year in the city of Tijuana, with the majority being linked to cartel violence and organized crime.{{Cite web|title=Van 41 homicidios en 8 días en Tijuana|url=https://zetatijuana.com/2020/01/van-41-homicidios-en-8-dias-en-tijuana/|publisher=ZETA Tijuana|language=es|date=10 January 2020|access-date=10 January 2020}} At the same time over 100 are reported to have died from drug-related violence in the state of Guanajuato in the first week of 2020.{{cite news|title=Guanajuato tiene arranque violento con más de 100 asesinatos dolosos|url=https://www.milenio.com/politica/comunidad/arranque-violento-guanajuato-100-asesinatos-dolosos|first=Mariana|last=Ramos|newspaper=Milenio|language=es|date=7 January 2020|access-date=10 January 2020}}
30 January – The U.S. Customs and Border Protection releases a report that in August it discovered a smuggling tunnel measuring 1,313 meters or 4,309 feet running from Tijuana to San Diego, making it the longest drug smuggling tunnel ever discovered along the Mexico–United States border.{{cite news|title=US-Mexico border: 'Longest ever' smuggling tunnel discovered|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51304861|work=BBC News|date=30 January 2020|access-date=20 January 2020}}
30 January – In his morning press conference, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared the war had ended on January 30, 2020.{{cite web|website=BBC Mundo, Mexico|url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-47082267 |title="Ya no hay guerra" contra el narco: la declaración de AMLO que desata polémica en México|date= 1 Feb 2020|access-date=2 Feb 2020|author=Alberto Nájar|language=es|trans-title="There is no longer a war" against the narco: the declaration of AMLO that unleashed controversy in Mexico}}
4 February – Gunmen open fire in an amusement arcade in Uruapan, Michoacán, killing at least nine people, including three children. Police say the gunmen were searching for specific targets but then opened fire indiscriminately on customers. The previous weekend 11 bodies had been discovered in clandestine graves. The killings are believed to be related to the ongoing war for territory between the Jalisco and Viagras drug cartels, or as retaliation for the arrest of a senior cartel commander in the area.{{Cite web|title=Nine killed including four children in attack on video arcade in Mexico|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/04/video-arcade-attack-mexico-michoacan|work=Associated Press in Mexico City|publisher=The Guardian|date=4 February 2020|access-date=5 February 2020}}
21 February – Mexico extradites Rubén Oseguera González (alias "El Menchito"), the son leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (alias "El Mencho"), to the United States to face drug charges.{{cite web|title=Mexico extradites son of Jalisco cartel to face US charges|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexico-extradites-son-jalisco-cartel-face-us-charges-69125126|agency=Associated Press|publisher=ABC News|date=February 21, 2020|access-date=February 21, 2020}}
3 April – 19 people are killed in a shootout between rival cartels in Madera, Chihuahua. Local media reports the violence was part of a conflict over turf by the Juarez Cartel and the rival Sinaloa Cartel.{{Cite web|title=19 killed in suspected cartel shooting in Mexico|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6779999/mexico-shooting-cartel/|date=April 4, 2020|access-date=April 5, 2020|publisher=Global News}}
15 May - In the day of 9 May, José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa alias "El Chino Ántrax" was reported missing and soon his body was found with gunshot wounds in a black SUV the next day in Culiacán alongside his sister, and brother-in-law.{{Cite web|title=Asesinaron a José Rodrigo Aréchiga "El Chino Ántrax", ex sicario del Cártel de Sinaloa|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2020/05/17/asesinaron-a-jose-rodrigo-arechiga-el-chino-antrax-ex-sicario-del-cartel-de-sinaloa/|date=May 17, 2020|publisher=infobae}}
26 June – Omar García Harfuch, Mexico City's chief of police, is wounded but survives an assassination attempt that also resulted in the death of two of his bodyguards and a 26-year-old bystander. The attack took place in the affluent Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood and has been alleged to have been orchestrated by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.{{cite web|title=Mexico City police chief shot in assassination attempt, blames drug cartel|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-violence/mexico-city-police-chief-shot-and-injured-in-assassination-attempt-idUSKBN23X1T8?il=0|date=26 June 2020|access-date=26 June 2020|work=Reuters}}
1 July – Gunmen storm a drug rehabilitation facility in the central city of Irapuato, Guanajuato, killing at least 24 people, according to a federal official.{{cite web|title=Gunmen kill 24 people in attack on Mexican drug rehab center|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-violence/24-people-killed-in-attack-in-central-mexico-media-reports-idUSKBN2427M4|work=Reuters|date=1 July 2020|access-date=1 July 2020}}
3 July – Mexican Army troops kill 12 drug cartel gunmen in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. In separate incidents, police kill five attackers in Torreón, Coahuila, and five police officers are shot dead in Guanajuato.{{cite web|title=Mexican soldiers kill 12 gunmen in city on border with Texas|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexican-army-kills-12-gunmen-city-texas-border-71600730|date=3 July 2020|access-date=3 July 2020|work=The Associated Press|publisher=ABC News}}
2 August – State officials in Guanajuato announce that Mexican security forces have arrested José Antonio Yépez Ortiz (alias "El Marro" or "The Sledgehammer") alongside five others. Yepes was the former leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel and was one of Mexico's most wanted criminals.{{Cite web|title=Jose Antonio Yepez Ortiz: Powerful Mexico gang leader arrested|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/jose-antonio-yepez-ortiz-powerful-mexico-gang-leader-arrested-200802150408667.html|date=2 August 2020|access-date=3 August 2020|publisher=Al Jazeera}}
16 October – Former defense secretary of Mexico Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda is arrested by the DEA at Los Angeles International Airport on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.{{cite web|title=Mexico's former defense secretary arrested at LAX on drug, money charges|work=KTLA |url=https://ktla.com/news/local-news/mexicos-former-defense-secretary-arrested-at-lax/|agency=Associated Press|publisher=KTLA 5|date=16 October 2020|access-date=16 October 2020}}
29 October – Acting on a tip, authorities in the state of Guanajuato find a mass grave containing the remains of 59 people. Most of the deceased are thought to be adolescents or young adults, and it is believed they were victims of a turf war between cartels.{{cite web|title=Bodies of young people found in mass grave in Mexico's Guanajuato|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/29/dozens-of-bodies-found-in-mass-grave-in-mexicos-guanajuato|publisher=Aljazeera|date=29 October 2020|access-date=29 October 2020}}
18 December – Former governor of Jalisco Aristóteles Sandoval is shot dead in a restaurant bathroom in Puerto Vallarta. One of his 15-strong security detail was seriously injured in a subsequent gun battle.{{cite web|title=¿Qué sabemos del asesinato del exgobernador de Jalisco, Aristóteles Sandoval?|url=https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/aristoteles-sandoval-que-sabemos-del-asesinato-del-exgobernador-de-jalisco|language=es|date=18 December 2020|access-date=18 December 2020}}

=2021=

25 January – The remains of 19 individuals are discovered in two vehicles in the state of Tamaulipas near the border with the United States. The victims, presumed to be undocumented migrants, were shot and then set on fire.{{cite web|title=Burnt bodies found in vehicles on US-Mexico border|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55796376|date=25 January 2021|access-date=25 January 2021|publisher=BBC News}}
18 March – Gunmen ambush a police convoy in Coatepec Harinas, State of Mexico, killing eight police officers and five prosecution investigators. It is the deadliest attack on law enforcement in the country since October 2019. The National Guard has been deployed to search for the killers.{{cite web|title=Gunmen ambush police convoy near Mexico City, killing 13|url=https://www.inquirer.com/wires/ap/gunmen-ambush-police-convoy-near-mexico-city-killing-13-20210319.html|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=18 March 2021|accessdate=18 March 2021|archive-date=March 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319083813/https://www.inquirer.com/wires/ap/gunmen-ambush-police-convoy-near-mexico-city-killing-13-20210319.html|url-status=dead}}
28 April – The city of Aguililla, Michoacán, is taken over by Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
14 May – 2 soldiers killed during a fight against Jalisco New Generation Cartel close to Aguililla.
14 May – Shootout between Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Mexican Armed Forces; 2 soldiers killed and 2 wounded on Jilotlán-Tepalcatepec highway.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/video/estados/no-hay-vato-que-se-escape-cartel-jalisco-embosca-al-ejercito-en-carretera-jilotlan|title = "No hay vato que se escape": Cártel Jalisco embosca al Ejército en carretera Jilotlán-Tepalcatepec|date = October 2021}}
16 November - Wife and alleged financier of Nemesio Oseguera's CJNG captured by the Mexican Army in Zapopan, Jalisco.

=2022=

18 August – López Obrador's government publishes a truth commission report about the 2014 Iguala mass kidnapping saying disappearance of 43 students had been a "crime of the state," in which drug traffickers working with federal police and military had killed students citing as key evidence 467 screenshots of messages purportedly sent by criminals and officials.{{Cite news |last=Steve Fisher |date=2022-08-19 |title=Mexican students' disappearance was a state-sponsored crime, truth panel says |language=en |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/18/mexico-43-students-missing-truth-commission-report |access-date=2022-11-02}}
31 October – inquiry into the 2014 Iguala mass kidnapping continues to collapse as government's key evidence could not be verified.{{Cite web |last1=Kitroeff |first1=Natalie |last2=Lopez |first2=Oscar |date=2022-10-31 |title=Key Evidence in Report on Missing Mexican Students Cannot Be Verified, Experts Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/world/americas/mexico-43-missing-students.html |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US}}

=2023=

1 January – 2023 Ciudad Juárez prison attack: Ten prison officers and four inmates are killed in an armed attack on a prison in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, in which 24 prisoners escape.{{Cite web |last= |title=Armed attack on Mexican jail leaves 14 dead |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/world/armed-attack-on-mexican-jail-leaves-14-dead-1177101.html |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}
3 January – Five gunmen and two members of the security forces are killed during a shootout while searching for 30 inmates who escaped two days earlier during an armed attack on a prison in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.{{Cite news |date=2023-01-03 |title=Mexico prison break: Hunt for escapees turns deadly |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-64147790 |access-date=2024-05-29 |language=en-GB}}
5 January – 2023 Sinaloa unrest: Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, is arrested in Culiacán, Sinaloa; fighting consequently breaks out between the Sinaloa cartel and the Mexican army.
26 February – Nuevo Laredo military shooting: Soldiers open fire on a pickup truck carrying unarmed civilians in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, killing five people, sparking protests and riots by local people.{{Cite web |last=Peña |first=Alfredo |title=Mexican troops, border residents clash after 5 shot, killed in Nuevo Laredo |url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2023/02/27/mexican-border-army-residents-clash-killing-in-nuevo-laredo/69950691007/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=El Paso Times |language=en-US}}
15 April – At least seven people are killed and another is injured during a mass shooting in La Palma resort in Cortazar, Guanajuato.{{Cite web |title=Seven killed in resort in central Mexico-Xinhua |url=https://english.news.cn/20230416/0ab1c21ab14a4ce19032ec56d9bc7da0/c.html |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=english.news.cn}}
10 May – Four people are killed during clashes at the Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge, on the Mexico–United States border, between police and suspected cartel members.{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Charlie |date=2023-05-10 |title=Heavy gunfire on key US Mexico border crossing with reports of casualties |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/breaking-mexico-border-shooting-heavy-29949522 |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=The Mirror |language=en}}
20 May – Ensenada shootout: Gunmen open fire during a car racing show in Ensenada, Baja California, killing ten people and injuring nine others.https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/least-10-people-killed-nine-injured-shootout-northern-mexico-2023-05-21/ (Reuters)
1 June – Authorities find 45 bags containing human remains in Jalisco after seven people were reported missing in the state last week.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-01 |title=45 bags containing human remains found after 7 young people go missing in western Mexico - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/45-bags-human-remains-mexico-guadalajara/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}
27 June – Fourteen police employees are kidnapped by armed men in Chiapas while travelling on the Federal Highway 190 between Ocozocoautla and Tuxtla Gutiérrez.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-27 |title=14 police employees kidnapped in Mexico: officials - Jamaica Observer |url=https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2023/06/27/14-police-employees-kidnapped-in-mexico-officials/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=www.jamaicaobserver.com |language=en-US}}
11 July – Suspected cartel members set off bombs targeting police officers in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Jalisco, killing six people (four officers and two civilians) and injuring 12 others.https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/explosives-attack-kills-three-mexican-security-officials-2023-07-12/ (Reuters)
28 August – The government says that it has deployed 1,200 more troops to the state of Michoacán after reports of drug cartel violence over the weekend.https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/mexico-sends-1200-troops-michoacan-state-after-weekend-102633665 (ABC News)
7 September – Six civilians are shot dead on a fronton court near the downtown of Guadalupe, Zacatecas. Hours later other armed attacks leave two more people dead.https://www.elsoldezacatecas.com.mx/local/municipios/de-entre-22-y-57-anos-las-edades-de-las-victimas-de-masacre-en-guadalupe-zacatecas-10662069.html (El Sol de Zacatecas)https://www.elsoldezacatecas.com.mx/local/matan-a-una-mujer-y-un-hombre-en-ataques-armados-en-guadalupe-10657209.html (El Sol de Zacatecas)
16 September – Ovidio Guzmán López is extradited from Mexico to the United States on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexican-kingpin-ovidio-guzman-extradited-us-source-says-2023-09-16/ (Reuters)
27 September – Authorities in the state of Nuevo León find at least twelve bodies dumped on roads near Monterrey, likely related to a drug cartel operating in Tamaulipas.https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/corpses-body-parts-found-monterrey-mexico/ (CBS News)
28 September – Six teenagers who were kidnapped by a group of armed men a few days ago are found dead near Villanueva, Zacatecas.[https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-09-28/six-bodies-and-one-survivor-found-in-search-for-kidnapped-teens-in-zacatecas-mexico.html?outputType=amp (El País)]
30 September – Two Morena party pollsters are killed and a third is kidnapped in Juárez, Chiapas. A note was left on the bodies from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, threatening the government.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pollsters-killed-kidnapped-mexico-cartel-sign-reportedly-left-with-victims/ (CBS News)
23 October – At least 24 people, including twelve police officers, are killed in three separate mass shootings and ambushes by unidentified assailants in Coyuca de Benítez, Guerrero, and Tacámbaro, Michoacán.https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231024-armed-attacks-in-mexico-leave-16-dead-including-12-police (AFP via France 24)
20 November – A shootout between Federal Police and armed civilians in Cuernavaca, Morelos, kills nine people, including two police officers.https://apnews.com/article/mexico-gunmen-cuernavaca-police-9805a4f23793f783b15cb70083722be7 (AP)
24 November – The security chief for the Sinaloa Cartel, Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, is arrested in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had a US$3 million bounty for his arrest.https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/el-nini-arrested-alleged-security-chieff-el-chapo-sons-mexico-psychopath/ (CBS News)
12 December – Six people are killed in a shootout between cartel gunmen in Boquilla del Carmen, Zacatecas. Police and soldiers also find two people wounded, as well as one armed suspect and guns and a grenade.https://apnews.com/article/mexico-killings-drug-cartel-zacatecas-521c68631f44cb1a78cf90234dd903d7 (AP)
13 December – Six people are killed and two others are injured in a shootout between rival drug cartels in Villanueva, Zacatecas. After the encounter, authorities arrest a suspect and decommission five assault rifles, grenades and ammunition.https://apnews.com/article/mexico-killings-drug-cartel-zacatecas-521c68631f44cb1a78cf90234dd903d7 (AP)] [https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/mueren-6-durante-enfrentamiento-entre-grupos-delictivos-en-villanueva-zacatecas/ (El Universal)]
17 December – Salvatierra massacre: Twelve people are killed during a mass shooting at a Christmas season party in Salvatierra, Guanajuato. Three others are killed and four injured at a bar in Tulum, Quintana Roo, while four people are killed in Salamanca, Guanajuato.https://apnews.com/article/mexico-16-killed-christmas-season-drug-cartels-a78f763cfc65b993f595c7fadb56eb33 (AP)
28 December – La Familia Michoacana kidnaps 14 people from Texcaltitlán, state of Mexico, in retaliation for a previous incident in which 10 cartel members were killed by residents of the town.https://apnews.com/article/mexico-killing-kidnappings-drug-cartel-4e02b7fe137419ed50c827fabb2a6ef1 (AP)
29 December – 2023 Ciudad Obregón shooting: Six people are killed and 26 others are injured in a mass shooting at a party in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. The shooting's target, a cartel member, is among those killed.https://apnews.com/article/mexico-6-killed-cartel-killings-sonora-1efa27100f3e190633064d78004ce7c8 (AP)

=2024=

14 May – Mass shooting resulted in 11 deaths, some of the victims being civilians, in Chicomuselo, in the state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala. The area is a trafficking route where the Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel are engaged in a turf war.{{Cite web |date=May 15, 2024 |title=11 people die in mass shootings in cartel-plagued part of Mexico amid wave of mass killings |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shooting-deaths-chiapas-mexico-wave-of-mass-killings-cartel-turf-battles/ |access-date=May 21, 2024 |website=CBS News}}
25 July – Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, were arrested by US Federal Agents shortly after landing at a private airfield outside El Paso, Texas.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-26 |title=Mexican cartel leader known as "El Mayo" pleads not guilty in federal court |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-07-25/u-s-officials-arrest-el-mayo-leader-of-the-sinaloa-cartel-in |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726010731/https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-07-25/u-s-officials-arrest-el-mayo-leader-of-the-sinaloa-cartel-in |archive-date=July 26, 2024 |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}
20 September – Infighting in the Sinaloa Cartel:– Clashes between rival factions of Sinaloa Cartel resulted in 53 deaths, while 51 people are still listed as missing. Clashes started on 9 September between the two main factions known as the El Chapitos and the El Mayos. As a result, schools in Culiacán were shut down and some restaurants and shops closed early.{{Cite news|title=More than 100 killed or missing as Sinaloa Cartel war rages in Mexico|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/more-than-100-killed-or-missing-sinaloa-cartel-war-rages-mexico-2024-09-21/|access-date=2024-09-21|website=Reuters}}
19 November – El Mencho's son-in-law, Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, a high ranking CJNG leader, was arrested in Riverside, California after faking his own death while living in the United States under a phony identity.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-21 |title=A Mexican cartel leader arrested in the US faked his death and assumed a phony name, prosecutors say |url=https://apnews.com/article/mexican-cartel-arrest-el-mencho-justice-department-6bd822c5d37c18aeebbcf067f26e5a60 |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=AP News |language=en}}

=2025=

5 March – An extermination camp operated by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is discovered in Teuchitlán, Jalisco.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-15 |title=Ovens and bone fragments: BBC visits Mexican cartel 'extermination' site |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly8gv7j5gyo |access-date=2025-03-20 |work=BBC}}

References

External links

[http://projects.latimes.com/mexico-drug-war/#/its-a-war Mexico's Drug War – Extensive coverage from the L.A. Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217003545/http://projects.latimes.com/mexico-drug-war/#/its-a-war |date=December 17, 2008 }}

Category:Lists of armed conflicts in the 21st century

Mexican Drug War