 Cárteles Unidos replies to theJalisco New Generation Cartel in a video through YouTube[1] | |
| Founded by | Ignacio Coronel Villarreal |
|---|---|
| Years active | 2010−present[2] |
| Territory | Michoacán,Edomex andGuerrero |
| Ethnicity | Mexican |
| Leader | Juan José Farías Álvarez |
| Activities | Drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, arms trafficking, robbery, extortion[3][4] |
| Allies | La Familia Michoacana Los Viagras La Nueva Familia Michoacana Los Blancos de Troya Los Correa |
| Rivals | Jalisco New Generation Cartel[5][6] |
Cárteles Unidos (English:United Cartels), also known asLa Resistencia (English:The Resistance), is a Mexican criminal enforcer squad and a U.S.-designatedForeign Terrorist Organization composed of well-trained gunmen from theSinaloa Cartel,Gulf Cartel,La Familia Michoacana, andKnights Templar Cartel originally formed to expel theLos Zetas Cartel from the states ofMichoacán andJalisco.[2][7][8][9][10] However, Cárteles Unidos' current main rival has now become theJalisco New Generation Cartel; aparamilitarycriminal organization based in the neighboring state of Jalisco.[11][12][13]
As of 2023, it has been reported that the group is now disbanded. TheGulf Cartel andSinaloa Cartel are no longer in the group. Infighting betweenLa Familia Michoacana andLa Nueva Familia Michoacana Organization and its armed wingLos Viagras is ongoing.La Familia Michoacana has a truce with theJalisco New Generation Cartel. TheKnights Templar Cartel are now allied with theJalisco New Generation Cartel and are fighting theLa Nueva Familia Michoacana Organization and its armed wingLos Viagras.
La Resistencia gang was originally created by Sinaloa Cartel leaderIgnacio Coronel Villarreal in 2010 soon after the rival gang Los Zetas began encroaching inMichoacán. Originally, La Resistencia was composed of gunmen from theMilenio Cartel which was loyal to theSinaloa Cartel.[14] They were also supported by the local Michoacán cartelLa Familia Michoacana to fight againstLos Zetas and theBeltrán-Leyva Cartel.[9] Then, the Milenio Cartel was incorporated into the Sinaloa Cartel, while La Familia and Beltran-Leyva cartels were destroyed by federal security forces. In 2011, La Resistencia continued its violent campaign against Los Zetas by joining forces between the Sinaloa, Gulf, La Familia andKnights Templar Cartels (itself a splinter from La Familia).[8][9][15]
With the capture of Óscar Nava Valencia, leader of the Milenio cartel and the death of Ignacio Coronel Villarreal of the Sinaloa cartel, the Milenio cartel broke into many factions, the most notable being a renewed La Resistencia, headed by Ramiro PozosEl Molca. The neighboringJalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) headed byNemesio OsegueraEl Mencho took notice of the collapse of the Milenio cartel and began its own war for control of the region.[14][16]
On March 1, 2011, Mexican federal police arrested a man they claimed to be the leader of "La Resistencia" Cartel, Víctor Manuel Torres García, alias "El Papirrín".[17] On August 1, 2011, La Resistencia commander, Neri Salgado Harrison, was arrested in Michoacán by theMexican Federal Police.[7][15] Salgado was also the head of theApatzingan plaza, and directed the production ofmethamphetamine in clandestine drug labs.[10]
On September 11, 2012, Federal Police forces arrested Ramiro Pozos González a.k.a. "El Molca". Mexican federal authorities identified him as the supreme leader of La Resistencia. He is blamed for the massacre of 26 people in Guadalajara in November 2011.[18][19] Due to CJNG's advances in theTierra Caliente (Mexico) region, La Resistencia made an alliance in 2015 withLos Viagras and remnants of the Familia Michoacana, Knights Templar, and local self-defence groups to expel the CJNG out of the region, resulting in violent conflict since 2017 in the region.
Se trató de una venganza de la alianza del cártel del Milenio y "Los Zetas", en contra de los llamados Matazetas o del cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación.