By Fausto Carbajal Glass, Partner, Miranda Delphi Solutions
Recent developments reveal interconnected security challenges across institutional, sectoral, and geographic dimensions. The Sinaloa Cartel’s factional conflict has resulted in 1,700 casualties since El Mayo’s capture, coinciding with increased federal enforcement operations yielding 100 arrests. Trump’s deployment of 10,000 troops utilizing military-grade equipment demonstrates border securitization, though legal frameworks face judicial scrutiny regarding migrant detention protocols. Intelligence documents indicate executive-level involvement in anti-corruption investigations, while U.S. cartel designations as terrorist organizations have triggered systematic banking sector risk assessment protocols. Financial institutions are implementing enhanced due diligence measures affecting client portfolios and operational procedures. Pentagon assessments identify Mexican criminal organizations’ African operations, establishing drug manufacturing and distribution networks targeting European, American, and Australian markets. This presumably geographic expansion may represent operational diversification beyond traditional North American corridors, indicating organizational adaptability and transnational capacity development.
One year after El Mayo’s downfall: the mystery of Huertos del Pedregal and the war bleeding Sinaloa dry.
One year after Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s kidnapping and forced extradition to the U.S. by Joaquín Guzmán López (El Chapo’s son), the abandoned Huertos del Pedregal ranch remains sealed and desolate. This betrayal triggered a brutal war between the Chapitos and Mayos factions within the Sinaloa Cartel, officially beginning September 9, 2024, but rooted in the July 25 incident. The armed violence has claimed over 1,700 lives, with June recording 207 homicides –Sinaloa’s bloodiest month in recent history. Federal authorities have arrested approximately 100 operatives, predominantly from the Chapitos faction (72 vs. 23 Mayos). The case intertwines with the assassination of politician Héctor Cuén Ojeda, allegedly killed at the same location where Mayo was captured. Governor Rubén Rocha Moya faces scrutiny over his supposed presence at a narco meeting, though he claims to have been vacationing in Los Angeles.
Proceso, 7/25/25, Aarón Ibarra: A un año de la caída del Mayo: el misterio de Huertos del Pedregal y la guerra que desangra Sinaloa.
With war tanks and radars: How Trump’s militia operates on the Mexico border.
Trump has deployed approximately 10,000 soldiers along the Mexico border using Iraq War-era military technology, including Stryker M1126 armored vehicles and AN/TPQ-53 rapid-reaction radars. The Joint Task Force-South Border, established in March, converted Border Patrol checkpoints into military outposts equipped with G-BOSS surveillance systems. The strategy includes creating National Defense Areas (NDAs) –vast militarized zones granting troops authority to detain unauthorized migrants. However, this legal framework is crumbling in federal courts. Judge Gregory Wormuth dismissed charges against 98 migrants, ruling insufficient probable cause existed, as these areas often lack proper signage and migrants unknowingly crossed military boundaries. Despite prosecutors initially charging 110 migrants with violations of military security regulations –facing up to one year imprisonment– the judicial pushback reveals fundamental flaws in militarizing immigration enforcement through repurposed battlefield equipment designed for combat operations rather than civilian border control.
Milenio, 7/18/25, Laura Sánchez Ley: Con tanques y radares de guerra: Así opera milicia de Trump en frontera con México.
Mexican Church rejects dialogue with drug cartels to combat violence.
The Mexican Catholic Church has rejected allegations that it trains priests to negotiate with criminal leaders, distancing itself from controversial statements by Morelia Archbishop Carlos Garfias, who advocates dialogue with narco groups to reduce violence in states like Michoacán. While Garfias proposed discussions with President Claudia Sheinbaum on this approach, citing Colombian experiences, the Church hierarchy clarified this isn’t official policy. The controversy stems from a Pontifical University workshop on “negotiation capacity building for priests and agents” and the broader National Dialogue for Peace initiative launched three years ago. Church coordinator emphasized their efforts focus on conflict mediation methodologies, not direct criminal dialogue, working instead with municipal councils, police, schools, and businesses. The Church maintains significant influence despite Mexico’s secular constitution, collaborating with Sheinbaum’s administration on disarmament campaigns while advocating for vulnerable populations amid ongoing violence that has claimed religious lives, including two Jesuits killed in 2022.
El País, 7/17/25, Carmen Morán Breña: La Iglesia mexicana rechaza diálogos con el narco para combatir la violencia.
Banking sector purges clients amid money laundering risk.
The U.S. designation of Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations and money laundering accusations against CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector have triggered a massive “derisking” process across Mexico’s banking sector. Major systemic banks –including BBVA, Banorte, Santander, Banamex, Scotiabank, Citi México, HSBC, and Inbursa– are purging client portfolios to eliminate potential terrorism financing and money laundering risks. Former CNBV regulatory policy vice president confirmed this filtration process is occurring at least three systemic institutions, with banks elevating anti-money laundering standards beyond Mexican legal requirements through enhanced monitoring and deeper client profiling. Banorte CEO acknowledged the derisking began “within hours” of the U.S. accusations, with authorities instructing banks on risk management procedures. Banks have suspended new operations with the three accused entities while reducing transaction volumes according to regulatory guidelines, demonstrating the immediate impact of U.S. financial pressure on Mexico’s banking system.
Reforma, 7/28/25, Charlene Domínguez: Depura banca clientes ante riesgo de lavado.
AMLO allegedly ordered investigation into Hernán Bermúdez in 2021, according to Sedena report.
Hacked Sedena intelligence reports reveal that in 2021, former President López Obrador allegedly ordered an investigation into Hernán Bermúdez Requena, Tabasco’s Security Secretary appointed by then-Governor Adán Augusto López. Military analysts documented intercepted phone conversations where “La Barredora” criminal organization members learned through a Navy informant that AMLO had directed SEIDO to open an investigation against Bermúdez and associates. The March 22, 2021 intelligence card exposed extensive corruption within “La Barredora,” a fuel-trafficking group linked to Jalisco New Generation Cartel operating in Tabasco, including López Obrador’s birthplace, Macuspana. The organization had infiltrated federal agencies, with Navy intelligence operative “Popeye” providing inside information and SEIDO agents accepting bribes up to 180,000 pesos. The investigation culminated tragically when suspected informant Gustavo “Tavo” Yedra was kidnapped and executed by his own criminal associates.
Animal Político, 7/28/25, Violeta Santiago: AMLO habría ordenado investigar a Hernán Bermúdez en 2021, según un informe de la Sedena.
Pentagon warns of Mexican cartel presence in Africa; they manufacture drugs in the region and then ship them to other countries, denounces.
Lieutenant General John Brennan, Deputy Commander of Pentagon’s Africa Command, issued warnings about Mexican drug cartels’ expanding operations across Africa. Speaking at a virtual press conference, Brennan highlighted an “emerging problem” with Mexican cartels manufacturing drugs on the continent before exporting them to Europe, the United States, Australia, and for internal African consumption. The Pentagon official emphasized this represents a “growing problem” that is “worsening over time”, positioning cartel activities alongside existing regional security threats including jihadist groups operating near Angola and Namibia, plus Islamic State franchises in Mozambique and South Africa. Brennan announced plans to strengthen anti-narcotics cooperation ties with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to combat cartel production and trafficking operations. This development may mark a significant geographical expansion of Mexican organized crime influence, extending their global reach from traditional North American operations into African markets and supply chains.
El Universal, 7/28/25, Redacción: Pentágono alerta por presencia de cárteles mexicanos en África; fabrican droga en esa región y luego la envían a otros países, denuncia.
If you would like to talk to Fausto about our services in risk and security consulting, please email him at fausto.carbajal@miranda-partners.com
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Download PDF: MI-SecurityChatter-073025