Long before the major cartels came to dominate the country’s criminal landscape, a woman had already laid the foundations for modern drug trafficking in Mexico. That woman was Ignacia Jasso—known as “La Nacha”—whom various historians and experts regard as the first major Mexican drug trafficker and a pioneer in the establishment of transnational drug networks.
Beginning in the 1920s, Jasso not only contested territories—a feat unheard of at the time—but also succeeded in controlling strategic routes along the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly in the region spanning Ciudad Juárez and El Paso. Her figure defied convention in a male-dominated world, setting precedents that criminal organizations continue to replicate to this day.
According to experts, “La Nacha” created the first transnational Mexican cartel, establishing supply routes into the United States that would later be utilized by organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Juárez Cartel.
Jasso operated alongside her husband, Pablo González, with whom she controlled the trafficking of marijuana and morphine across the border. Over time, their organization expanded its operations into states such as Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa, having successfully displaced competitors like the Chinese-born trafficker Sam Ching.
