Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico (United States) blowout) began on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Killing eleven people, it is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8% to 31% larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill. In 2012, federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico produced of oil, which made up 19.5% of all U.S. oil production that year, and more than that of any U.S. state other than Texas. The 2012 production was less than the in 2009; however, due to new
Infighting in the Gulf Cartel a Gulf Cartel representative in Colombia, the drug business could be disrupted even further. One clear benefactor of the fall of the Gulf Cartel is its rival group, Los Zetas. It is also possible that the several within the Gulf Cartel may decide to join the Sinaloa Cartel or Los Zetas, although the latter seems unlikely given the bitter sentiment both groups have planted. Currently, Los Zetas is also experiencing a power struggle within its own ranks, so the future of the Gulf Cartel is difficult to predict. "El Metro 4", a high-ranking lieutenant of the Gulf Cartel, was reportedly