Mexico: The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion's Possible Independence

In a recording of an interrogation by Mexican authorities released Sept. 13, Ramiro "El Molca" Pozos Gonzalez, a leader of the La Resistencia criminal group who was arrested Sept. 12, claimed that a war has broken out between the Sinaloa Federation and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, which heretofore has served as Sinaloa's ally and enforcer group. La Resistencia is a rival of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, so Pozos could be spreading disinformation as a tactic to subvert the organization. However, several narcomantas displayed throughout Jalisco state over the past month suggest that the Sinaloa Federation has indeed been distancing itself from the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion. 

If Pozos' allegations are genuine, a conflict with the Sinaloa Federation would signal an attempt by Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion to become one of Mexico's independent criminal groups with national reach. The cartel's rise would present new challenges for Mexico's security forces and potentially alter the country's polarized criminal landscape.