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Joaquin Guzman Escapes Prison
Mexico's most-wanted drug lord, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman escapes prison in a laundry van. He builds an alliance of drug gangs from the western State of Sinaloa and vows to take leadership of Mexico's drug trade. -
Tijuana Drug Boss is Killed
The Tijuana cartel's drug boss Ramon Arellano Felix is killed and one of his brothers is arrested by Police. -
Leader of Gulf Cartel is captured.
The leader of the Gulf cartel, Osiel Cardenas is captured by Mexican soldiers after a shootout between troops and gunmen in the border city of Matamoros. -
Violence at the Border
Taking advantage of Cardenas’ arrest, Guzman sends armed enforcers to border cities south of Texas to take over the Gulf cartel’s smuggling routes. Heavy fighting breaks out before Guzman’s fighters are eventually repelled.
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Violence Intensifies
Violence intensifies across Mexico, over 1,500 people are killed over the year, while Joaquin Guzman looks for control of the border city of Tijuana and trafficking routes into California. -
New President, More Violence
Killings spread to the resort of Acupulco, the industrial city of Monterrey and to Michoacan in western Mexico. After taking over as president on December 1, Mexico President Calderon immediately sends out troops and federal police to stem the violence. Calderon’s attempt increased the death toll by drug gangs to 2,300. As well as beheading, tortures and other brutal things increased. -
George Bush Helps Out, but Violence Increases
Calderon extradites Gulf cartel leader Cardenas to the United States and makes a historic 23-ton cocaine seizure. U.S. President George W. Bush pledges $1.4 billion in drug-fighting gear and training for Mexico and Central America. Violence escalates and more than 3,000 people are killed over the course of the year. -
Guzman vs Juarez Cartel
Guzman's hitmen take on the Juarez cartel in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, which quickly becomes the drug war's bloodiest flashpoint. Drug violence kills around 6,300 people across Mexico over the year. -
Presidents Team Up But Fail
Calderon sends 10,000 more troops to Ciudad Juarez but the killings continue. Violence spills over the border into Arizona. U.S. President Barack Obama visits Mexico and vows to clamp down on smuggled guns but the annual drug war death toll soars above 7,000. In December, an elite navy squad tracks down and kills drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva, head of the cartel of the same name and one of Mexico's most-wanted traffickers. -
Good and Bad News
In January police capture drug kingpin Teodoro "El Teo" Garcia Simental, known for having rivals tortured, killed and then dissolved in acid. But the cartels grow more brazen, murdering a political candidate, and setting off car bombs. Mass killings at drug rehabilitation centers and parties become common and mayors and local officials are assassinated.
