US not responsible for violence in Sinaloa, says US ambassador to Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar has rejected accusations by Mexico’s president that the United States is partly responsible for the escalation of cartel wars in northern Sinaloa over the weekend.

The state of Sinaloa has been overshadowed by violence as two warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed in the state capital, Culiacan. It appears to be a power struggle after two cartel leaders were arrested in the United States in late July.

“It is incomprehensible that the United States could be responsible for the massacres that we are seeing in different places,” Salazar said at a news conference in Chihuahua on Saturday. “What is happening in Sinaloa is not the fault of the United States.”

Members of the National Guard and armed forces patrol the streets during an operation in a neighborhood in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

The arrests came as a surprise to many, as it appears that the son of notorious drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman kidnapped a former cartel member, Ismael El Mayo Zambada, and brought them both to the United States to be arrested. Such an outburst of violence was to be expected following the arrests.

As warring cartel factions and authorities clash, helicopters regularly fly over the capital and soldiers patrol the streets. Families have said they are afraid to send their children to school.

Meanwhile, bodies have been found all over the city, often dumped in the streets or in cars, with sombreros on their heads or pizza slices or boxes with knives attached. Pizzas and sombreros have become informal symbols of the warring cartels, underscoring the brutality of their war.

At least 53 people have been killed and 51 missing since fighting began in Sinaloa state as of Friday, local authorities said.

On Thursday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blamed US authorities for the bloodshed.

Members of the Mexican National Guard cover a body found on the side of the road in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Soldiers and police officers arrive at the area where bodies lie on the ground in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo)

When asked during his morning briefing whether the U.S. government bore some responsibility for the violence in Sinaloa, the president replied, “Yes, of course… for carrying out this operation.”

If today we have instability and conflict in Sinaloa, it is because (the US government) made this decision, López Obrador said.

López Obrador said that US authorities had carried out the operation to capture Zambada and that it was completely illegal, and that Justice Ministry agents were waiting for Mr Mayo.

Salazar previously denied that US officials were involved in the alleged kidnapping.

This is the latest blow to bilateral relations between the two regional allies.

Last month, López Obrador, a populist who often lashes out at his critics, said he would cut ties with the U.S. and Canadian embassies after they criticized his controversial plan to overhaul Mexico’s judicial system by requiring all judges to run for office.

However, Zambada’s arrest drew criticism of López Obrador, who refused to crack down on the cartels throughout his tenure, falsely claiming that the cartels respected Mexican citizens and fought primarily among themselves.

The lifeless body of a man, with a tattoo of the Virgin of Guadalupe on his arm, lies covered in the street in the La Costerita neighborhood in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Under López Obrador, who is due to leave office at the end of the month, the cartels have increasingly used weapons and tactics, including roadside bombs, trenches, homemade armored vehicles and bomb-carrying drones. Criminal organizations have also expanded into new sectors, such as migrant smuggling and the lucrative avocado trade.

When Mexican authorities announced Saturday that they would send 600 additional troops to Sinaloa as reinforcements, Salazar blamed the increase in violence in the state on the broader security crisis in Mexico.

The reality is that there is insecurity and violence in Mexico, Salazar said.

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