Cartel battle leaves 15 dead in Mexican gang stronghold

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At least 15 people have been killed this week in escalating fighting between factions of one of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels in a gang stronghold that has been plagued 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 taken into 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 United States.

The wave of violence in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, is believed to be pitting 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 with caution, but without panic,” adding: “Hopefully, full normality will return to Culiacan soon.”

The Public Prosecutor’s Office said it was investigating 20 cases of suspected enforced disappearances in addition to the 15 deaths.

This week, authorities announced that schools in some districts would be closed and Independence Day festivities would be cancelled due to the violence.

“There will be no celebration, neither public nor private,” the governor said.

Many shops are closed and supermarkets are experiencing food shortages due to hoarding.

“Employees do not feel safe going to work and entrepreneurs are also experiencing difficulties operating under these unfavorable conditions,” the National Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.

The United States issued a security alert on Thursday due to “reports of vehicle thefts, gunfire, security force operations, roadblocks, burning vehicles and closed roads” in the Culiacan area.

“U.S. citizens throughout Sinaloa should remain alert for potential violence throughout the state,” the report said.

In October 2019, Culiacan was the scene of violent riots by the Sinaloa Cartel during an aborted security operation to arrest one of El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio Guzman. Riots occurred again in January 2023, when the son was finally arrested.

Rising crime, much of it linked to drug trafficking and gangs, has killed more than 450,000 people in Mexico since 2006.

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