MexicoMexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico covers 1,972,550 km2 (761,610 sq mi), making it the world's 13th-largest country by area; with a population of over 126 million, it is the 10th-most-populous country and has the most Spanish speakers.
DurangoDurango (duˈɾaŋɡo), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango (Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: Korian; Nahuatl: Tepēhuahcān), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest of the country. With a population of 1,832,650, the 8th lowest of Mexico's states, Durango has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja California Sur. The capital city, Victoria de Durango, is named after the first President of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria.
JaliscoJalisco (həˈliːskoʊ, hɑː-,_həˈlɪskoʊ, xaˈlisko), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco (Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco esˈtaðo ˈliβɾej soβeˈɾano ðe xaˈlisko), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by six states, which are Nayarit, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Michoacán, and Colima. Jalisco is divided into 125 municipalities, and its capital and largest city is Guadalajara.
Chihuahua (state)Chihuahua (tʃiˈwawa), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Chihuahua (Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is located in the northwestern part of Mexico and is bordered by the states of Sonora to the west, Sinaloa to the southwest, Durango to the south, and Coahuila to the east. To the north and northeast, it shares an extensive border with the U.S. adjacent to the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas.
MazatlánMazatlán (masaˈtlan) is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipio, known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located on the Pacific coast across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California Peninsula. Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word for "place of deer". The city was colonized in 1531 by the Conquistador where many indigenous people lived. By the mid-19th century, a large group of immigrants arrived from Germany.
Gulf of CaliforniaThe Gulf of California (Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (Mar de Cortés) or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (Mar Bermejo), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. It is bordered by the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa with a coastline of approximately . Rivers that flow into the Gulf of California include the Colorado, Fuerte, Mayo, Sinaloa, Sonora, and the Yaqui.
Sinaloa CartelThe Sinaloa Cartel (Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Zambada Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in illegal drug trafficking and money laundering. It was established in Mexico during the late 1980s as one of a various number of subordinate "plazas" operating under a predecessor organization known as the Guadalajara Cartel.
Drug lordA drug lord, drug baron, kingpin, or narcotrafficker is a type of crime boss, who is in charge of a drug-trafficking network, organization, or enterprise. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly in possession of something illegal but are insulated from the actual trade in drugs by several layers of staff. The prosecution of drug lords is therefore usually the result of carefully planned infiltration into their networks, often using informants from within the organizations.
ConquistadorConquistadors (kɒnˈk(w)ɪstədɔːrz, USalso-ˈkiːs-,_kɒŋˈ-) or conquistadores (koŋkistaˈðoɾes, kõkiʃtɐˈðoɾɨʃ, kõkistɐˈdoɾis; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, Oceania, Africa, and Asia, colonizing and opening trade routes. They brought much of the Americas under the dominion of Spain and Portugal.
Mexican War of IndependenceThe Mexican War of Independence (Guerra de Independencia de México, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional struggles that occurred within the same period, and can be considered a revolutionary civil war. It culminated with the drafting of the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire in Mexico City on September 28, 1821, following the collapse of royal government and the military triumph of forces for independence.
