Violence is on the rise in Sinaloa. New drug blockades, armed clashes and open threats in the midst of the celebration of Independence Day have marked the deadliest day since the outbreak of the war between Ismael The May Zambada and Los Chapitos, the sons of Joaquin El Chapo Guzmán, early last week. The 14 murders recorded on September 15 place the State in first place for homicides in the country, despite the decision of the Government of Rubén Rocha to cancel the national celebrations in the state to avoid exposing the population. shout The 2024 shooting was also the deadliest in the state since the beginning of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s six-year term, according to official figures. Insecurity has continued until this Monday, with new shootings between “armed civilians” and elements of the Armed Forces in the La Campiña area, in the east of Culiacán.
“Long live the Fourth Transformation, long live President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, long live Mexico, long live Sinaloa,” shouted Governor Rocha from the main balcony of the Government Palace in Culiacán, in front of a desolate plaza after the suspension of mass celebrations due to drug violence. Hours earlier, the state capital woke up to the discovery of five men executed on the Mexico 15 highway, at the southern exit of the city. At the crime scene, small hats were placed on the corpses, an intimidating message that the authorities have not commented on.
Cyberattacks were also reported against the websites of the Tax Administration Service of the State of Sinaloa (Sates) and the College of Bachelors of Sinaloa (Cobaes), which were hacked to show threats between the criminal gangs that until a few weeks ago made up the Sinaloa Cartel and that today are fighting for control of the organization’s main stronghold. There were at least eight executions in the state capital last Sunday.
In the municipality of Elota, where educational activities were also suspended at the end of last week, a man and a woman were murdered in the rural community of Alta Rosa and another homicide was reported on Saturday night. On the last day there were also blockades on the free highway and on the toll road between Durango and Mazatlán, the tourist capital of the State, where tire-punching and burning trailers that isolated the community of Concordia for hours. The Navy carried out ground and air operations south of Culiacán, which concluded with the confiscation of ammunition, a vehicle and tactical equipment.
The latest wave of violence, which is shaping up to be the worst cartel war since the 2008 feud between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, has left 33 people dead in the state since Monday, according to data compiled by the federal government. State authorities have also acknowledged around 30 missing persons in the past week. Since the first signs of the end of the truce between El Mayo and Los Chapitos, comparisons have emerged with the Culiacanazosthe cartel’s response following the arrests of Ovidio Guzmán, El Chapo’s son, in 2019 and 2023. “It has been worse, it had never lasted so long,” Karla, a resident of southern Culiacán, explained to this newspaper last week.
Psychosis has spread among the civilian population, who are afraid to even stay in their homes after reports that criminal groups have broken into homes and private subdivisions or have robbed people of dozens of vehicles. A 19-year-old man was killed and three other youths were kidnapped from a house in the Miguel Hidalgo neighborhood in Culiacán, and a commando opened fire on a house in the Colinas del Bosque subdivision, according to local media.
Videos and photographs of people killed, armed civilians in the streets in broad daylight and blocked roads are multiplying on social media and on residents’ phones, which are pouring in at a faster pace than the authorities’ confirmations of the veracity of the images. Law enforcement has insisted that there is sufficient capacity to quell the outbreaks of violence and has called on citizens to remain calm, urging them not to spread false or unverified information. In Elota, for example, the discovery of another five dead people was reported, but the report was denied by the state Security Secretariat. In the middle of the holiday, the population remains in suspense over the resumption of classes in the state, suspended in the southern zone due to violence and in the northern region due to the impact of tropical storm Ileana.
Uncertainty has settled in Sinaloa since the capture of El Mayo and Joaquin Guzman Lopez alias The GüeroOvidio’s older brother, on July 25. Zambada accused El Güero, his godson, of betraying him, ambushing him and handing him over against his will in the United States. After multiple sporadic outbreaks, the violence has spread for more than a week, with the news of much more explicit threats that have escalated over the weekend. “It’s a matter for them, just that they don’t affect the population and that they also take care of themselves,” López Obrador declared on Friday.
The 14 murders of the last day far exceed the records of recent years: on September 15 of last year there was only one homicide, in 2022 there were three, in 2021 there were no deaths, in 2020 there were two and in 2019, four. In Mexico there were 87 intentional homicides, only one less than in 2021, the shout with the most violent deaths of this six-year term. Sunday was also the first time that Sinaloa surpassed ten murders since the conflict began last week.
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