Brandon Darby

Brandon Darby

Articles by Brandon Darby

Former Mexican Mayor Hides in Bathroom to Avoid Anti-Corruption Hearing

A former Mexican politician with Mexico’s ruling party MORENA spent almost an hour hiding in a bathroom in an attempt to avoid being dragged by agents to a hearing tied to an anti-corruption and embezzlement investigation during her term as mayor of Muzquiz, Coahuila.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and former Muzquiz Mayor Tania Flores. (Credit: Tania

Gunmen Storm House, Kill Four in Cartel-Controlled Mexican Border City  

A group of cartel gunmen disabled a home’s security system before going inside and killing four victims in one of the latest acts of violence in the Mexican border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The killing comes at a time when government officials continue to claim that the region is safe while the Gulf Cartel terrorizes locals.

Mexican authorities raid a Gulf Cartel stash house. (Credit: Breitbart Texas / Cartel Chro

Mexican Labor Union Denies Cartel Boss Was Their Secretary, Leaks Show Otherwise

The leader of one of Mexico’s largest labor unions is denying allegations and news reports that linked a newly captured boss with the Sinaloa Cartel, who is the alleged leader behind the widespread extortions of ranchers and truckers, and was a regional secretary for the union. A series of leaks has revealed that the two were allegedly close allies.

FILE - A forensic technician holds a bag of evidence collected during an excavation on a p

Cartel Gunmen in Mexico Kill Farmer, Attack Cops with Landmines near Texas Border

Cartel gunmen resumed the use of landmines in the Mexican state just south of the border with Texas. In the most recent series of attacks, the gunmen used an explosive to kill an innocent farmer who was driving to a ranch. In a separate attack, they injured five police officers using another buried landmine.

Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles

43 Mexican Border State Cops Suspended After Turning Police Station into Bar

Forty-three state police officers in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas have been suspended. They are under investigation for having turned their police station into a bar and being drunk on the job. The scandal comes at a time when Tamaulipas continues to experience rising levels of cartel violence, and state police officers have been accused of not acting against cartel gunmen.

Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles

Cartels Use Car Bomb, Suicide Bomber to Attack Police in Western Mexico

An apparent suicide bomber drove a vehicle full of explosives towards a community police station in Western Mexico and set it off. The bomb killed the suicide bomber and two other victims, and injured ten others. The suicide attack using car bombs marks an escalation in the way drug cartels have been fighting authorities in Mexico.

Credit: Michoacan SSP

El Chapo’s Son Confesses to Kidnapping Former Ally ‘El Mayo,’ Gives Details of Event

The son of jailed Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera pleaded guilty to various drug trafficking charges as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. As part of the plea deal, the young drug lord Joaquin “El Guero” Guzman Lopez confessed to having planned the kidnapping of his father’s former ally, Sinaloa Cartel’s co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, in order to turn him over to U.S. authorities.

Mexico City Sinaloa Cartel Shootout

U.S. Consulate Warns of Los Zetas Cartel Carjackings in Mexico near Texas Border

U.S. consular officials are warning travelers about the high risk of carjackings by cartel gunmen on the highways leading north to the Texas border. Just hours after issuing that warning, a group of cartel gunmen shot two men from Mexico who were heading to Texas to take advantage of the Black Friday specials.

Cartel Del Noreste -- Los Zetas (Breitbart News Foundation/Cartel Chronicles)

Cartel Betrayal Deepens: El Chapo’s Son Set for Guilty Plea in U.S. Court

The son of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is set to plead guilty in U.S. federal court in a stunning turn that could shatter cartel alliances and expose ties to Mexico’s political elite. Joaquín “El Moreno” Guzmán López, arrested in 2024 during a betrayal operation against Sinaloa kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, is expected to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement — a move that threatens to unleash cartel secrets at the highest levels of power.

Son of El Chapo Expected to Plead Guilty Next Week (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforceme

Mexican Farmers Protest Cartel Violence, Extortion — Block Highways Throughout Country

Thousands of farmers and transportation workers took to the streets throughout Mexico to set up blockades along the main highways in the country as a way to protest the cartel violence and the extortion that they are subjected to. The protests come at a time of mounting pressure for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum over widespread allegations that, instead of protecting her citizens from organized crime, she and the country’s ruling party, MORENA, have been protecting the various criminal organizations terrorizing the nation.

Protesters in Mexico. (Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles)

Tijuana Mayor Threatens News Outlets Reporting on His Money Laundering Investigation

The mayor of the Mexican border city of Tijuana, Baja California, is threatening to take legal action against any news outlet that publishes information about an ongoing money-laundering investigation into him. The politician is allegedly linked to two businessmen who have been singled out for their alleged ties to both Cartel Jalisco New Generation and the Sinaloa Cartel.

CJNG (1)

U.S. Treasury Goes After Sinaloa Cartel-Linked Albanian Mobsters

The U.S. Treasury Department has moved against a group of Albanian mobsters based in Mexico that worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to launder money through casinos and entertainment businesses. The move was coordinated with Mexican authorities, who began shutting down 13 casinos this week that had been transferring money to Romania, Switzerland, Malta, and the United Arab Emirates.

Sinaloa Patrol (1)

EXCLUSIVE: Mexican Border State Cops Ignore Innocent Victims of Cartel Attacks

Police in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas are ignoring innocent cartel victims and not responding to the scenes of attacks. This new development allows cartel gunmen to attack innocent victims with complete impunity while government officials claim that crime is decreasing in the cartel-controlled state.

State police failed to show at the scene of a cartel attack in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas

Israel: Mexico Stopped Iranian Assassination Plot Against Its Ambassador

The Israeli Embassy in Mexico revealed that Mexican authorities worked to foil an assassination plot by Iran against its ambassador in that country. The announcement sparked controversy in Mexico as government officials tried to distance themselves from the operation. Iran’s Embassy in Mexico claimed that it was all lies from Israel.

Mexican soldiers patrol Michoacan. (Credit: Breitbart Texas/ Cartel Chronicles

Mexican President Denounces War on Drugs, Killing Narcos

Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, denounced the war on drugs, claiming that her government was not going to go that route because killing drug traffickers is a fascist approach that violates their rights. The comments come at a time when Mexico’s government has been harshly criticized worldwide for the raging cartel violence and the government corruption that has enabled it.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum takes questions during a news conference. (Credit: Bre

Riots Continue in Western Mexico After Crime-Fighting Mayor’s Murder

Riots continue in the Mexican state of Michoacan following the murder of a local mayor who had gained fame for his hard stance against crime and cartels. In the most recent riots, protesters set fire to the city hall building in Apatzingan as locals called for the ousting of cartel-connected politicians from Mexico’s ruling party, MORENA.

People chant during a funeral procession for late Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez,

Mexican Army Kills 13 Gunmen During Shootout in Sinaloa

Authorities in Mexico confirmed a large-scale shootout in the hyperviolent western state of Sinaloa, where 13 gunmen died while trying to ambush a squad of Mexican soldiers. In the aftermath of the clash, authorities also reported rescuing nine kidnapping victims.

Mexican Army

Cartel Connected Mexican Governor Kicked Out of Murdered Crime-Fighting Mayor’s Ceremony

The cartel-connected governor of the Mexican state of Michoacan had to leave a ceremony and wake held to honor Carlos Manzo, the murdered Mayor of Uruapan, who had become famous in Mexico for his hard stance against cartels. Amid insults, shoves, and shouts, Governor Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla had to make a quick exit after trying to attend the event. Hours later, hundreds of protesters vandalized the governor’s palace and even attempted to torch it during a protest over Manzo’s murder and the raging cartel violence that plagues Michoacan.

Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo who earned fame by fighting cartels died at the hands of cartel

Anti-Cartel Mayor Gunned Down in Cartel-Controlled Mexican State

A group of cartel gunmen shot and killed one of the most outspoken politicians in Western Mexico. The Uruapan, Michoacán, mayor had taken a hard stance against drug cartels and had his city cops fight them at a time when state and federal politicians there had deep connections to criminal organizations.

Murdered anti-cartel mayor Carlos Manzo (Credit: Presidencia Uruapan)

Mexican Journalist Killed for Reporting on Crime, Corruption

Unknown gunmen kidnapped and murdered a journalist in western Mexico. At the time of the killing, the gunmen left a posterboard claiming that the murder was for writing “false things about the people of Durango.”

Weapons and ammunition colledted during a crime scene attributed to the Sinaloa Cartel. (C

Gulf Cartel Running Surveillance Network Across Mexican Border City

The Gulf Cartel continues to run a complex surveillance network throughout the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, that includes TV cameras, lookouts, and its own clandestine radio network. The network gives the Gulf Cartel eyes and ears throughout the city, not only to keep rivals out but also to prey on the public.

Credit: Tamaulipas State Police

Mexican Border State Cops Abducted Travelers on Behalf of Cartel

Travelers in the border state of Tamaulipas are sounding the alarm about a police checkpoint that state investigators are allegedly setting up to collect extortion, and where at least three victims have been abducted and turned over to Gulf Cartel gunmen. The gunmen reportedly tortured the victims while demanding ransom.

Tamaulipas state police officers set up a roadblock. (Credit: Tamaulipas State Guard)

48 Bags with Human Remains Found in Cartel-Controlled Mexican State …So Far

Authorities in Mexico confirmed the discovery of 48 bags with human remains so far at the most recent clandestine gravesite in the cartel-controlled state of Jalisco. The state is controlled by Cartel Jalisco New Generation, one of the six Mexican cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion leakes video showing what appears to be a paramilitary arm