Authorities said that 11 more people were killed by violence in the heartland of a cartel in Mexico, which was shaken up by gang rivalry.
In a daily report, the Sinaloa State Prosecutor’s Office said that five men were killed in the latest incident. Their bodies were discovered on a highway to the south of Culiacan.
In a week that saw bloodshed and violence in Sinaloa more than 30 people were reported dead. However, authorities didn’t specify the number of deaths believed to be related to cartel fighting.
The clashes followed the arrest of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada on U.S. territory on July 25, who claimed that he was kidnapped and taken to US custody against his wishes. Zambada, who is accused of being involved in drug trafficking and plotting murders, pleaded not guilty in New York last week.
Zambada was arrested along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez. El Chapo’s son, who is currently serving a prison sentence of life in the United States, also served a detention.
It is believed that the violence pits gang members loyal to El Chapo, his sons, and others against Zambada. Zambada has pleaded no-fault to several charges before a New York Court on Friday.
The violence forced the closure of schools on Thursday and Friday. The governor said that the Independence Day celebrations for Sunday had also been canceled.
The United States issued a security warning on Thursday due to “reports about car thefts and gunfire in the area of Culiacan, as well as security operations, roadblocks and burning vehicles.”
Last month, in an unexpected turn of events, Mexican prosecutors announced that they would be bringing charges against Guzman over the apparent kidnapping of Zambada. But it also cited a second charge under an article from Mexico’s penal code which defines what he had done as treason.
The statement makes no mention of the fact that Guzman’s younger brother was part of the Chapitos faction, or “little Chapos,” of the Sinaloa drug cartel. This group, which is made up of Chapo’s sons smuggles millions of doses of fentanyl into the United States each year, causing 70,000 deaths from overdoses. In a 2023 U.S. Justice Department indictment, the Chapitos cartel members used corkscrews to torture rivals. They also electrocuted them and fed some of the victims to tigers.
El Chapo is the founder of the Sinaloa Cartel and is currently serving a sentence of life imprisonment in a maximum-security prison in Colorado. He was convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering, and other weapons offenses in 2019.
El Chapo, who is a Mexican criminal, sent a “SOS” to the president of Mexico last year. He claimed that he had been tortured in prison.
