How Did 'El Chapo' Control Ciudad Juarez? Sinaloa Cartel Leader Funded Criminal Gangs

Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán had some pretty important business to do in Ciudad Juarez: the city was a key crossing point for the transport of cocaine and marijuana through Chihuahua and into Texas. But there was just one problem: Ciudad Juarez was controlled by his arch rivals, the Juarez Cartel. So 'El Chapo' came up with a solution: the Sinaloa Cartel leader funded a small, young gang to wage war against the Juarez Cartel and destroy its control over the key border town.

The latest accusations against a Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán presented before a court in the United States has revealed the strategies used by the cartel leader to take control of Ciudad Juarez. In 2007, El Chapo began his attempt to take control of the city away from the Juarez Cartel, led by Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, whom he had to pay in order to transport his shipments through the town. Security expert Eduardo Guerrero explains that in 2008, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltran Levya Cartels separated following the arrest of Alfredo Beltrán Leyva 'El Mochomo.'

The Juarez Cartel then sought an alliance with the Beltran Leyva group against the Sinaloa Cartel, also inviting the Zetas to join the alliance. In May 2008, the first battles between the cartels began in the troubled northern city. "This war hugely increased the level of violence, and although its epicenter was Ciudad Juarez, at the same time they also fought in areas of Durango and Sinaloa," says Guerrero.

Guzmán Loera and Ismael Zambada García 'El Mayo' were partners and leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel with their base in Culiacan. To intiate war with Carrillo Fuentes, they funded the 'Gente Nueva' or 'New People' cartel, a small young cartel which emerged in Juarez under the leadership of José Antonio 'El Jaguar' Torres Marrufo. Gente Nueva ajoined 'Los Mexicles' and 'Artistas Asesinos' as the newly armed right hand of the Sinaloa Cartel in Ciudad Juarez, and began waging war against the Juarez Cartel.

One year later, 'El Jaguar'was the chief of smuggling operations for the Sinaloa Cartel in Chihuahua, continuing to wage war against Carrillo Fuentes on behalf of 'El Chapo.' To identify his packages of cocaine, Marufo used the logo of a jaguar. He became one of the most influential narcos in the area and a key element of 'El Chapo's power in Chihuahua and across the United States.