By Fausto Carbajal Glass, Partner, Miranda Delphi Solutions
This mining-oriented Security Chatter highlights Mexico’s multidimensional security pressures converging around resource extraction and border dynamics. Organized crime demonstrates sophisticated diversification into strategic mineral extraction, leveraging Mexico’s abundant natural resources for transnational operations. The mercury trafficking network illustrates criminal adaptation to regulatory frameworks –exploiting the Minamata Convention’s grace period while generating $8 billion through South American gold mining supply chains.
Geographic concentration patterns reveal systematic territorial control: Querétaro’s mercury operations, Chiapas barite extraction for petroleum industries, and Michoacán’s uranium mining represent sectoral specialization aligned with industrial demand. The contradiction between EIA allegations and local miners’ denials highlights intelligence verification challenges in remote areas. Cartel mining operations demonstrate operational evolution from traditional narcotics toward industrial commodities requiring technical expertise, supply chain management, and international distribution networks.
In more recent security developments, the Mexican government carried out a second massive transfer of alleged drug kingpins to the U.S., as President Trump is reported to order the military to prepare for unilateral strikes against cartels. Also, clandestine drug laboratory seizures surge to 96 in six months, suggesting operational adaptation to enforcement pressure through geographic dispersion. U.S. border militarization paradoxically occurs during historically low migration (86% decrease), while energy dependency creates vulnerabilities –96% gas import reliance threatening electrical grid stability. These convergent pressures –i.e. mining infiltration, energy vulnerabilities, militarized borders, and evolving criminal enterprises– create complex interdependencies requiring integrated rather than sectoral security responses.
Second massive transfer of alleged drug kingpins to the U.S.
The Mexican government delivered 26 alleged drug kingpins to the U.S., the second such massive transfer in less than six months. Among those sent were Servando Gómez “La Tuta”, leader of Los Caballeros Templarios; Abigael González Valencia “El Cuini”, a high-profile operator for the CJNG and brother-in-law of leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes “El Mencho”; and Roberto Salazar, who is accused of participating in the 2008 murder of a police officer in Los Angeles. The transfer took place just days after The New York times reported President Trump had signed a secret directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels that his administration has deemed terrorist organizations. Mexican authorities said the transfer was part of bilateral coordination, following all relevant protocols and respecting each country’s sovereignty.
El Universal, 8/13/25, Daniela Wachauf y Eduardo Dina: “La Tuta”, “El Cuini” y “El Flaquito”, en segunda entrega masiva de narcos a Trump.
Mercury Trafficking for Gold Mines: The New Multi-Million Dollar ‘Business’ of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has diversified into mercury trafficking for illegal gold mining across South America, generating an estimated $8 billion since 2019. According to the U.S. Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), the cartel smuggles approximately 40 tons annually from fortified mines in Querétaro –the world’s second-largest mercury reserve– to Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. The operation presumably conceals liquid mercury within gravel shipments labeled as “construction materials”, bypassing customs controls through ports in Manzanillo and Veracruz. This mercury facilitates gold extraction in artisanal mining operations, with cartels exploiting record-high gold prices ($107/gram) for both revenue generation and money laundering. The scheme exposes critical gaps in the Minamata Convention’s mercury regulations, as Mexico maintains extraction rights until 2032, inadvertently enabling this toxic convergence of environmental crime and organized trafficking.
El País, 8/03/25, Andrés Rodríguez: Tráfico de mercurio para las minas de oro: el nuevo y millonario ‘negocio’ del Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación.
Neither Mercury Smuggling nor Cartels.
Querétaro miners categorically deny U.S. Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) allegations of cartel involvement in mercury extraction operations. During field visits to La Peña and La Fe mines, Diario de Querétaro found no evidence of armed surveillance, fortifications, or cartel presence described in the EIA report. Local workers, led by spokesman José Luis Martínez, assert the mines remain community-owned with 33 artisanal miners extracting mercury using traditional methods. They dispute the existence of a fifth mine called “La Perla” and explain that apparent security structures are religious installations housing a Virgin Mary statue. Miners acknowledge mercury price increases but maintain their operations remain unchanged, selling legally to established companies handling South American exports. They express concern that the report endangers their livelihoods and community safety, emphasizing no contact with foreign agencies or journalists occurred during the alleged investigation period.
El Sol de México, 8/06/25, David Álvarez: Ni contrabando de mercurio ni cárteles.
Which Minerals Have Attracted the Interest of Mexican Drug Lords? How They’ve Transitioned from Drugs to Excavations.
Mexican drug cartels have systematically expanded into illegal mining since 2006’s government crackdown, targeting strategic minerals across multiple sectors. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel presumably controls mercury extraction from cinnabar deposits in Querétaro’s Sierra Gorda, processing the toxic metal at near-industrial levels for export to South American gold mines, where it facilitates money laundering through easily transportable gold. In Chiapas, armed groups battle for control of barite mines –a mineral crucial for petroleum drilling operations– with violence escalating after El Maíz (CJNG-affiliated) and Sinaloa Cartel forces clashed over extraction sites in Chicomuselo. Michoacán’s Nueva Familia cartel has diversified into uranium and mercury mining, while historically Los Caballeros Templarios generated over $15 million from illegal iron extraction and export through Lázaro Cárdenas port. This mineral diversification represents cartels’ strategic evolution beyond traditional narcotics into high-value industrial commodities.
Milenio, 8/08/25, Baruc Mayen: ¿Cuáles son los minerales que han atraído el interés del narco en México? Así han pasado de la droga a las excavaciones.
Trump Transforms Mexico Border into Military Zone.
President Trump has deployed thousands of armed soldiers along the Texas-Mexico border, transforming one of the world’s busiest commercial corridors into a militarized zone with Stryker armored vehicles, helicopters, drones, and thermal cameras typically reserved for high-intensity war zones. This unprecedented military presence is visible from international bridges at major crossing points including Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, and Matamoros. The militarization coincides with historically low undocumented migration levels –Border Patrol sectors report drops of up to 86% in migrant apprehensions during the current fiscal year. Del Rio sector shows an 86.2% decrease, Laredo 51%, and Rio Grande Valley 73%. Trump has designated large border areas as National Defense Areas, enabling soldiers to detain foreign nationals before transferring them to civilian authorities. Most significantly, Trump signed a secret order authorizing the Defense Department to launch military strikes against drug cartels in Latin America, possibly escalating border security to unprecedented levels.
Vanguardia, 8/10/25, Mauro de la Fuente y Rolando Chacón: Transforma Trump a frontera con México en una zona militar.
Pemex CEO Warns of National Security Issue in Mexico Due to U.S. Gas Dependence.
Pemex CEO Víctor Rodríguez Padilla cautioned that Mexico’s overwhelming dependence on U.S. natural gas imports poses critical national security risks, with the country importing 7 billion cubic feet daily –up to 96% of total consumption– while generating over 60% of electricity from this fuel. “If the United States turns off the tap, the country goes dark”, he warned. Two historical supply disruptions underscore this vulnerability: the 2000 California energy crisis when the U.S. suspended shipments, and the 2021 Texas winter storm that paralyzed production and spiked prices 600-fold. Despite USMCA trade agreements, Trump’s administration has imposed tariffs as pressure tactics over drug trafficking and migration. Pemex’s 2025-2035 strategy includes evaluating unconventional gas reserves requiring hydraulic fracturing, with Mexico holding 64 billion barrels of crude equivalent in unconventional resources. The initiative addresses Mexico’s $98.8 billion debt burden while oil production remains at four-decade lows.
BloombergLínea, 8/07/25, Arturo Solís: CEO de Pemex advierte problema de seguridad nacional en México por dependencia de gas estadounidense.
Seizures of Drug Labs on The Rise.
Federal forces seized 96 clandestine drug laboratories in the first six months of 2025, surpassing annual totals from 2019-2024. Since 2019, authorities have dismantled 282 laboratories, with Sinaloa leading at 152 sites, followed by Durango (51) and Aguascalientes (16). Criminal cells increasingly establish operations in remote mountainous areas lacking infrastructure and hygiene standards. UNAM researcher notes deteriorating equipment quality –makeshift wood stoves, blackened aluminum pots, and plastic drums reused without cleaning, creating dangerous subproducts that remain embedded in containers. These unsanitary conditions pose severe health risks beyond drug addiction. Manufacturers often add fentanyl to increase volume, potentially causing fatal overdoses. The improvised equipment –lacking safety gear like masks or protective clothing– exposes both producers and consumers to toxic chemical burns and respiratory damage. Cartels choose isolated locations to evade thermal detection from drones and helicopters, complicating law enforcement access.
El Universal, 8/11/25, Daniela Wachauf: Crece aseguramiento de narcolaboratorios.
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Download PDF: MI-SecurityChatter-081325