For more than a week, two factions of the Sinaloa cartel have been violently clashing in the capital of the Mexican state of the same name, Culiacán. Hundreds of heavily armed civilians patrol the streets of the city and around the outlying villages, where they engage in battles. Authorities count at least 39 people dead, including two soldiers, 37 forced disappearances, 13 clashes with the army, blocked roads, burned trucks and dozens of stolen cars, while hackers took over the websites of two local government institutions to spread war propaganda.
“People are very scared, shopping malls are empty, delivery services are suspended, schools are closed and public transport is just starting to operate again”Ismael Bohórquez, director of the weekly, testifies Riodocebased in Culiacan. “There is an increase in clashes. The two groups are kidnapping a lot of people, there are many missing people, but they are still being assessed and we can fear more fierce battles in the future; so far there has not been a massive assault like in 2008.”adds this seasoned journalist, referring to the fratricidal war unleashed sixteen years ago during a split in the Sinaloa cartel, which caused more than 5,000 deaths.
At the root of this new explosion of violence is the void left by Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo,” the historic leader of the Sinaloa cartel, after his capture by the United States authorities on July 25 in circumstances that are still unclear. In a letter distributed to the press by his lawyers on August 6, the 76-year-old criminal stated that Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of the famous drug trafficker Joaquín Guzmán López, was arrested in Mexico City on July 25, 2017. “ El Chapo » Guzmán kidnapped him and forced him to board a plane to hand him over to the United States. Another version indicates that the drug trafficker negotiated his surrender with the American authorities.
Surprised by the arrest of “El Mayo,” the Mexican government urgently deployed, on July 28, an additional contingent of 200 soldiers to Culiacán, hoping to deter the branch of the organization held by the sons of“ El Chapo »nicknamed “los Chapitos”, and now led by the son of“ “El Mayo”, to start a war to seize the remains of the criminal empire built by the drug trafficker over more than four decades.
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