SUMMARY

In February 2010, it was first reported that the Gulf Cartel, La Familia, and the Sinaloa Cartel had created a temporary coalition with the common goal of wiping out Los Zetas in Northeastern Mexico. This occurred right after Los Zetas had officially split with its employer the Gulf Cartel in January. The coalition has been referred to by several names, mainly Fusión de Carteles, Cartéles Unidos contra Los Zetas, La Federación and La Nueva Federación.

In March, banners with narcomessages were hung in several states, where the coalition’s effort to unite against Los Zetas was declared. On 18 April 2010 a Zetas plaza leader was killed in Marin, Nuevo León, and his death was claimed by the three-cartel coalition. During 2010, La Familia and the Sinaloa Cartel sent troops to the northeast of the country to assist the Gulf Cartel. However, towards the end of the year the coalition was weakened as La Familia intensified its attempts to control plazas in Colima and Jalisco, while the Sinaloa Cartel was occupied with its conflict against the Juarez Cartel.

The temporary coalition was reported to be active in the states of Coahuila, Hidalgo, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Veracruz. The Tamaulipas cities of Marin, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, Río Bravo, in addition to Acuña city, Coahuila and Monterrey, Nuevo León were especially affected by the conflict.

The violence between these groups was characterized by shootouts in cities, where cartels attempted to push each other out of previously claimed territories. The Mexican military interfered in many of those occasions. Torture, decapitations, and mutilations of the victims' bodies were common. On several occasions threatening messages to the groups' leaders have been found next to the victims' bodies.

The non-state conflict between the Gulf Cartel, La Familia, the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas was first included in UCDP data in 2010. By March of that year fighting between the temporary coalition and Los Zetas had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.