Baja California has once again become the epicenter of the criminal dispute between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel, after state authorities identified a rift in the alliance between CJNG operatives and the Los Chapitos faction in various municipalities across the state.
This situation is unfolding in a state that, according to the 2026 Mexico Peace Index, has been the hardest hit by the confrontation between the two criminal organizations. The report estimates that the war between the CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel has resulted in approximately 30,000 homicides nationwide over the past decade, 55 percent of which occurred in Baja California.
Which municipalities are most affected by the war between the CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel?
The border state is identified as the main battleground of this confrontation, especially in cities like Tijuana, Mexicali, and Ensenada, where armed groups are fighting over drug, human, and arms trafficking routes into the United States.
The study also warns that the internal fragmentation of the Sinaloa Cartel, following the conflict between Los Chapitos and the La Mayiza faction, temporarily altered criminal alliances in the region.
After the kidnapping and surrender of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada to U.S. authorities on July 25, 2024, the internal dispute escalated and led to realignments among criminal cells in northern Mexico.
Security authorities in Baja California had identified operational cooperation between members of the CJNG and the Los Chapitos faction in strategic areas of the state as early as 2025. The state Secretary of Public Security, Laureano Carrillo Rodríguez, indicated that there was evidence of this criminal relationship in Tecate and Tijuana.
According to state officials, one of the incidents that confirmed this alliance occurred on January 23, 2026, at Cerro Cuchumá, where security forces detected the presence of CJNG members alongside members of the Los Chapitos faction.
Carrillo Rodríguez indicated that this collaboration arose amidst internal conflict within the Sinaloa Cartel, particularly against cells linked to La Mayiza and allied groups.
Authorities also identified movements of criminal operatives in Mexicali, San Quintín, and Ensenada, where different factions sought to control routes used for cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking.
In the case of Tecate, intelligence reports indicated that members linked to Los Mayos left that faction to join groups associated with the CJNG and Los Chapitos.
The Secretary of Public Security of Baja California asserted that, following the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” new power struggles began within the criminal organizations.
He added that current leadership remains in the process of being defined and that alliances between criminal cells continue to change in different parts of the northern border.
Source: elfinanciero
