Cartel battle leaves 15 dead in Mexican gang stronghold

CULIACÁN (AFP) – Escalating fighting between factions of one of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels has left at least 15 dead this week in a gang stronghold that has been shaken by gunfire, kidnappings and arson, authorities said Friday.

Security forces have been sent to the northwestern state of Sinaloa, stronghold of jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and his sons, where bodies lie in the streets.

The fighting follows the dramatic arrest on U.S. soil in July of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, who claimed he had been kidnapped in Mexico and turned over to U.S. custody against his will.

Zambada, 76, was arrested along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of El Chapo. He is serving a life sentence in the U.S.

The wave of violence in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, is said to pit gang members loyal to El Chapo and his sons against others with ties to Zambada, who pleaded not guilty to a series of charges in a New York court on Friday.

“The rivalry stems from the events of July 25,” said Ruben Rocha Moya, governor of the state of Sinaloa.

President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday called on warring parties to “act with a minimum of responsibility” and urged them “not to harm innocent people.”

He called on residents to “act cautiously, but without panic”.