In September 2024, the seizure of monster trucks in the Sonora desert by the Sixth Naval Region of the Mexican Navy served as the introduction of a criminal organization within the Mexican underworld: the Independent Cartel of Sonora. What they failed to mention at the time was that, in reality, it wasn’t a new drug trafficking syndicate in the country, but rather a family clan that has operated in the state for decades: the Salazar family.
Information from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) identifies Adrián Salazar Zamorano, alias Don Adán, as the founder of the criminal organization that for decades acted as an ally of the Sinaloa Cartel, primarily in Sonora but also in some municipalities of Chihuahua.
On one hand, El Chapo’s sons, who inherited their father’s criminal empire, became a prime target for authorities on both sides of the border, who accused them of leading a prolific fentanyl trafficking network. Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that has triggered a public health crisis in the United States.
Faced with pressure from authorities, Los Chapitos ordered their subordinates and associates to shut down the fentanyl production chain:
“They told us to kill anyone who was still producing fentanyl […] there are only a select few close to the bosses who can do it,” a gunman working for El Chapo’s sons told the specialized think tank InSight Crime.
It was only a matter of time before reprisals were taken against those who disobeyed the order. Suddenly, the bodies of some of the drug’s cooks and distributors began appearing in Sinaloa, but despite the warning, some criminal cells refused to comply, including Los Salazar.
