From Albania to Sinaloa: How the alliance between Albanian clans and Mexican cartels was built

The announcement by the United States Treasury Department to impose sanctions on the Hysa family, which is Mexican national but of Albanian origin – on charges of money laundering in favor of the “Mayiza” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, adds to a long list of news stories linking Mexican cartels with criminal clans of Albanian origin and raises the question: why has the connection between organized crime organizations in Mexico and Albania become so common?

Little is known about the Albanian mafia in Mexico, but it is very important internationally, since, together with the Italian 'Ndrangheta, they constitute the two mafias that control drug trafficking in Europe and, therefore, are among the main international allies of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG). In addition to Europe, it also has a presence in the United States, Canada and Australia, through immigrants of Albanian origin settled in these countries, writes Noro Este .

In the late 1980s, both the Albanian mafia and the 'Ndrangheta were relatively small compared to other criminal organizations, but from the 1990s they began to grow thanks to two main factors. The first was the weakening of the most influential mafias due to prosecution by European governments, such as the Sicilian mafia (Cosa Nostra), the Neapolitan Camorra, the Russian mafia, the Galician mafia or the Union Corse. In all these cases, the authorities found members willing to spy on their associates, which allowed the prosecution of many leaders and made these groups less reliable partners for Mexican or Colombian cartels.

While the "spies" weakened these mafias, the Mexican and Colombian cartels found the right allies in the Albanian mafia and the 'Ndrangheta, since in both cases these are criminal groups composed only of people with direct family ties - parents, children, brothers, sisters, uncles and nephews - which significantly reduces the risk of betrayal, since blood ties are crucial.

The second factor is that, in a short time, thanks to the diaspora of immigrants from Albania and Calabria (the region in southern Italy, where the 'Ndrangheta originates and which is characterized by lower incomes than the rest of the country), they managed to establish a presence in almost all European countries, especially in ports, major financial centers, capitals with large populations and areas of rapid economic growth.

For example, the Albanian mafia has a presence in very important cities such as London, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Istanbul, New York, Sydney, Toronto, Madrid or Rome, as well as in ports with high commercial traffic in Europe, such as Hamburg in Germany, Algeciras and Valencia in Spain, Antwerp in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Since the ports are the main entry points for drugs such as cocaine and fentanyl into Europe, and the Albanian mafia is the one most infiltrated in these points, it becomes a key ally for organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel or CJNG.

But in addition to these two reasons, there is a third that distinguishes the Albanian mafia: in addition to its key role in drug trafficking, it also offers Mexican organizations access to a very extensive money laundering network in Europe and other parts of the world, such as China.

Albanians invest in luxury real estate projects across Europe; they own casinos, hotels, tourist centers, spas, and restaurants, but they have also created alliances with Chinese and Turks for interests in small businesses with cheap products and piracy in various cities.

Their operations in major European financial centers, such as Zurich, Geneva, Frankfurt or London, have also been identified, as well as purchases of cryptocurrencies, use of electronic gaming platforms or massive fraud through digital means.

In summary, the Albanian mafia has become a very valuable partner for the Mexican cartels because it is one of the largest buyers of drugs, has an extensive distribution network in Europe and other countries, provides extremely important services such as money laundering, and can even provide heavy weapons.

This makes it possible for the same Albanian clan to have business relationships with enemy cartels, such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG, because the cost of breaking the relationship is higher than tolerating the lack of exclusivity.

It is also important to note that, unlike the Sinaloa Cartel or the CJNG, the Albanian mafia is not a single organization, but rather many independent ones: each family clan operates as a separate gang, with its own portfolio of businesses. Unlike Mexican criminal organizations, which often clash and compete violently, Albanians rarely engage in violent conflicts and most of the time cooperate among themselves and share the profits.

For this reason, it is not at all surprising that the Hysa family, located in Mexico, and which the US government links to the Mayiza faction, serves as a bridge to the large European clans and that, in addition to laundering money through casinos, it offers access to a very wide catalog of investments in Europe, which is extremely difficult for Mexican authorities to detect. Precisely for this reason, the relationship between Albanian and Mexican organizations has intensified for years.