Guerreros Unidos
Spanish: Cártel de Guerreros Unidos | |
Presence of Guerreros Unidos in Mexico | |
| Founded | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Founded by | An alliance in 2010 signed by La Familia Michoacana remnants with Beltrán-Leyva Organization, Tijuana Cartel, Juárez Cartel, and Los Zetas |
| Founding location | Guerrero |
| Years active | 2010-present |
| Territory | Mexico: Guerrero, Oaxaca, Estado de México, Morelos, Quintana Roo United States: New York State, Miami, Chicago |
| Leader | Esther Yadira Huitrón Vázquez |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, corruption, extortion, kidnapping, murder |
| Allies | La Familia Michoacana Beltrán-Leyva Organization Los Zetas Juárez Cartel Tijuana Cartel La Barredora CIDA Los Talibanes CJNG Iguala Municipal Police Cocula Municipal Police Mexican Army |
| Rivals | Gulf Cartel Knights Templar Cartel Popular Revolutionary Army Sinaloa Cartel Los Rojos La Nueva Familia Michoacana Los Tlacos |
Guerreros Unidos (English: United Warriors, lit. 'Warriors Unified') is a Mexican criminal syndicate operating in southern Mexico.
In 2014, the cartel kidnapped 43 students from Ayotzinapa College in Iguala, Guerrero. A witness confirmed that soldiers in the Mexican Army were involved in the kidnapping, by interrogating the students at the army base in the town of Iguala and then handing them over to the cartel.
Much of what is known about the gang comes from investigations into the disappearance of the Ayotzinapa student teachers, and 23,000 text messages from BlackBerry communications among the gang members obtained by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.