Are There Cartels in California? Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG, 25 Cartel-Linked Federal Cases and Evidence (2026)

Which Mexican cartels and transnational gangs are reported in California, what federal prosecutors have charged since 2024, and our latest California coverage. Every item links to its source.

Cartels in the U.S.: map and all states · Mexico cartel map

Nationwide: the DEA’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment says associates, facilitators and affiliates of the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG operate in almost all 50 U.S. states. [Small Wars Journal (summary of DEA NDTA 2025), 2025-05-18 · news/research] The state-by-state evidence below goes further: named cities, federal cases and official reports.

Groups reported in California

• Sinaloa Cartel (Congressional Research Service, Los Angeles, as of 2024): “distribution hubs in cities that include Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago” [U.S. Department of Justice · official record]
• CJNG (Congressional Research Service, Los Angeles, as of 2024): “The Jalisco Cartel maintains illicit drug distribution hubs in Los Angeles, Seattle, Charlotte, Chicago, and Atlanta.” [U.S. Department of Justice · official record]
• Beltrán Leyva Organization (federal court case, Los Angeles, as of 2009) [U.S. Department of Justice · official record]
• Los Chapitos (Sinaloa Cartel) (news report, Southern California, as of 2026): “Other Sinaloa cartel stash houses are in Southern California according to the indictment.” [El Paso Herald Post, 2026-05-12 · news/research]
• Tijuana Cartel (federal court case, San Diego, as of 2013): “the organization 'taxed' other criminals who operated within FSO territory, which includes Tijuana and parts of San Diego” [FBI · official record]
• Sinaloa Cartel (federal court case, Imperial Valley, as of 2025): “Investigators learned that the Mendoza DTO was supplied by a Sinaloa Cartel-linked source of fentanyl supply in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. The Mendoza DTO obtained drugs from Mexico and then distributed the drugs throughout the Imperial Valley and elsewhere, including as far as New York.” [U.S. Department of Justice · official record]
• MS-13 (federal court case, as of 2025): “Vargas-Escobar and his co-defendants are allegedly part of MS-13's command and control structure in Las Vegas and California and exercised significant leadership roles in the organization's operations.” [U.S. Department of Justice · official record]

Named in multi-state or national actions that include California

These federal actions or reports cover several states at once. They show California was among the places named, not that a group has an established presence here.

• MS-13 (federal court case, as of 2024): “operates throughout North and Central America, including in El Salvador, Mexico, New York, California, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina” [ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) · official record]
• Tren de Aragua (news report, as of 2025): “Gang members have been arrested in Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, Texas and California.” [NPR, 2025-03-16 · news/research]
• Sinaloa Cartel (Treasury sanctions, as of 2026): “As a cell leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Gonzalez Penuelas operates primarily in Sinaloa, Mexico with U.S.-based distribution cells in California, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Utah, and Nevada.” [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-05-20 · official record]
• Sinaloa Cartel (federal court case, as of 2026): “Najera Gutierrez allegedly distributed that cocaine to other high-level drug traffickers in Mexico who imported the cocaine into Atlanta, Chicago, and the states of Florida, New York, and California.” [U.S. Department of Justice · official record]

Federal cases in California (since Jan 2024)

Showing the 40 most recent of 51.

Our California coverage

• Who Is ‘El Mayito Flaco’? Anaheim-Born Ismael Zambada Sicairos, the Son of ‘El Mayo’ the U.S. Now Calls the ‘Undisputed Head’ of the Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Mayos Sep 30, 2026
• Xolo Gas Sanctioned: U.S. Targets a Former Business Partner of Tijuana Xolos Owner Jorge Hank Inzunza — Twin Sons of Hank Rhon’s Late Security Chief Sep 30, 2026
• Treasury Says ‘Gordo Flubber’ Ordered a 2023 Tijuana Killing: Inside the Sinaloa Cartel Cell of $5 Million Fugitives ‘La Rana’ and ‘Aquiles,’ Across From San Diego Sep 29, 2026
• $25,000 a Kilo in New York, $11,500 in San Diego: Manhattan Prosecutors Seek 92 Months for Los Chapitos Fentanyl Lab Operator Carlos Omar Félix Gutiérrez Sep 29, 2026
• Anaheim-Born ‘Mayito Flaco’ Among 21 Sanctioned: Treasury Says Los Mayos Hired Hitmen in Southern California and Bought Protection in Tijuana and Mexicali — Reaching the Baja Governor’s Ex-Husband Sep 29, 2026
• 45 People, 3 of Them Minors, on 2 Yachts Headed for the U.S.: Mexican Navy Stops Boats Off Ensenada and Arrests 5 Alleged Smugglers Sep 27, 2026
• ‘From Putumayo to the Plazas of Tijuana’: Colombian Armed-Group Boss ‘Araña’ Extradited to San Diego on Narco-Terrorism Charges Sep 26, 2026
• U.S.-Born ‘El Tochín’ Admits Smuggling 50 Kilos of Cocaine a Week Through California’s Imperial County for Sinaloa Cartel Faction Sep 24, 2026

Last reviewed: September 30, 2026. Report errors via our corrections page.