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For the last year, Paulina Villegas, an investigative journalist for The New York Times, had the daunting task of meeting repeatedly with members of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Spearheaded by Natalie Kitroeff, The Times’s former Mexico City bureau chief, the assignment had obvious risks: The Sinaloa Cartel is a U.S.-designated terrorist group. But the meetings, Ms. Villegas said, were vital to her quest to provide readers a clearer understanding of how powerful criminal groups operate, documenting the practices and root causes that both the Mexican and American governments are trying to address.
“It’s far too simplistic to see cartels only as ruthless criminals, though they are that, of course, and must be held accountable for the violence and devastation they’ve caused,” she said. “They also operate within a very specific ecosystem, shaped by social, economic and political forces that, at times, allow them not only to survive but to expand their influence and power.”
Ms. Villegas, who is based in Mexico City, had previously reported on the cartel’s siege of Culiacán, the state capital, after the capture of one of El Chapo’s sons by Mexican security forces in 2019.
This month, she and the investigative reporter Maria Abi-Habib published an article detailing how the Sinaloa Cartel smuggles fentanyl into the United States. They documented the cartel’s efforts to adapt to crackdowns by both the American and Mexican governments.
In a recent interview, Ms. Villegas discussed how she was able to gain such deep access to the cartel and her findings about the criminal ecosystem in this region of Mexico. This interview has been condensed and edited.
Did you have any hesitation about taking on this story?
Just the opposite. Organized crime and the drug war have always been topics I have been interested in, both as a journalist and as a Mexican citizen. They have obviously affected our country and society in a big way. Violence has reached a lot of people I know. It has always been a passion of mine to try to understand these groups’ inner workings and the reasons they have become so powerful and influential.
When it comes to organized crime or the drug war, we often hear the law enforcement and government’s perspective. It’s important to hear the cartel’s side. Doing that is high risk and I’m perfectly aware of that, but I think it’s incredibly valuable for our readers to better understand how this drug trade has become what it is today.
Where does your risk-taking nature come from?
Growing up in Hidalgo, Mexico, my parents would take my brothers and I through the mountains on motorcycles. I was barely 5 years old. From then on, I was exposed to risk and adrenaline, and somewhere along the way, I learned to love it.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel fear on some of these reporting trips — I do. I’ve just learned how to live with it, to find a certain comfort in the uncertainty.
What’s it like being on the ground in the stronghold of a cartel?
It’s always a high-tension situation and stressful. When the cartel was preparing the packages and loading the vehicles at night, everyone was nervous. Everyone was jumpy, including the cartel members. It’s relevant to remind the reader that this is happening at the same time as an internal war and infighting between two rival groups in the cartel — tension is running at an all-time high. Everyone is suspicious of one another. That adds another level of danger.
Why do you think the cartel operatives were so open to speaking with The Times?
It’s a very tense moment for the Mexican government, which is facing a lot of pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on the cartel and to dismantle the criminal groups and stem the flow of fentanyl.
Part of reporting this ethically and responsibly is to protect the sources. They are criminals, but they are putting their life at risk to talk to us. We agree to conditions of anonymity, in consultation with our editors. It’s important for the reader to understand that. We invested a lot of time building trust and a rapport with the organization. We returned again and again to Sinaloa, and each visit opened new doors. It allowed us to meet more people and get deeper details and, in the case of this story, to get access to this operation, which is rare.
I think they want to talk once they trust you, once they see that we’re doing our homework and committed to getting the story right. There’s also an element of them boasting a bit about their capacities, power, money and influence.
What do you hope readers take away from this yearlong reporting effort?
I think people picture drug traffickers, or narcos, or hit men — often referred to as sicarios — who are holding AK-47s. It’s a much more complex story. The organization effectively acts as a transnational company. It’s shown a capacity for patience, innovation, planning, business acumen and a vision of what it needs to do to keep the profits coming while staying one step ahead of the authorities. That requires a lot of power, money and violence.
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