Mexican president says US partly responsible for Sinaloa drug cartel violence – New Delhi Times – India’s only international newspaper

Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that the United States bears some responsibility for the outbreak of drug cartel violence that has left at least 30 people dead in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa in the past week.

The violence followed the arrest in July of the reclusive Sinaloa cartel leader, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, in Texas, Lopez Obrador said.

He also said the “instability and clashes” Sinaloa was now experiencing were the result of the arrest in what he called a “completely illegal” operation.

Washington denies it played a role in Zambada’s arrest.

In a letter distributed by his lawyer, Zambada said he was kidnapped by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of imprisoned former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and taken to the U.S. in a small plane. When the plane landed near El Paso, Texas, U.S. authorities arrested him. The younger Guzman was also held by the U.S.

The US has been seeking Zambada for years on drug trafficking and other charges.

Zambada and El Chapo are believed to have been drug cartel partners. El Chapo is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison for various drug-related charges.

Authorities say they believe Zambada’s arrest has pitted two factions against each other: those loyal to El Chapo and his sons versus those loyal to Zambada. The two groups have moved their armed clashes to the streets of Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa.

Credit: Voice of America (VOA), Photo credit: Associated Press (AP)