Over 18 months we cross-referenced six public databases —DEA, OFAC, FGR, INEGI, FinCEN and a federal case file from the Eastern District of Virginia— to build the first comprehensive map of who governs under criminal control in Mexico, how much they move, where they launder, and why many of them are already on the U.S. government’s radar.
Eight findings ordered by severity and by the type of evidence that supports them. Each card expands to reveal the source of the data, the legal framework, and the actions that follow. Tap to expand.
Mexican cartels don’t live on fentanyl alone. They operate eleven parallel economic chains with routes, operators, laundering and documented political protection. These are the $29 billion annually, broken down.
Filter by risk level. Hover over any point to see the municipality, mayor, dominant industry and U.S. federal status. Schematic representation of the full universe of 2,457 municipalities.
Classified by estimated status before the U.S. Consular Office, OFAC, HSI and DOJ. Live search. Filter by level. Sort by municipality, state or risk.
| Municipio ↕ | Thisdo ↕ | Party | Dominant industry | U.S. federal status ↓ |
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From the political consolidation of 2018 to the formal filing of the report in 2026. Milestones that cannot be separated from one another.
The case file is grounded in accessible official sources and documentary evidence shared with U.S. federal authorities. This is not leak-based journalism: it is cross-referencing of public records with court files.
INEGI (municipal government census), INE (electoral), FGR (open investigation dossiers), U.S. Department of Treasury/OFAC (SDN list), FinCEN (declassified SAR reports), DOJ (open federal indictments in Eastern Virginia, Southern Texas and Central California).
Every listed mayor meets at least two criteria: (a) appearing in at least one active federal source (FGR, OFAC, DOJ, HSI), and (b) operating in a municipality where INEGI documents anomalous economic activity or where SESNSP records extreme indicators of violence or extortion.
This list is not a conviction. It is a map of case files, signals and investigative hypotheses opened by competent authorities. The presumption of innocence applies to every person named, and every classification is revisable with new evidence.
319 municipalities. 2,457 mapped. 11 narco industries. 11 findings with U.S. statutes. The full interactive investigation with map, database and formal complaints. One single reading: the narco power-economy is a company with an address, a payroll and a money route — and as such, it can be investigated and dismantled.