The threat from Sinaloa

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Original article available at ZETA 
Translated by El Wachito

They are being hunted like flies, and all of them are informants because they are giving away locations and contacts, that's the way that "The Damaso" operate, they go after them and if they find them, it is likely that they will engage in armed combat", warned a trusted source to ZETA, about the war in Sinaloa that has expanded to La Paz and Los cabos.

After the arrest of "El Chapo", a climate of instability has rule across the region of Sinaloa. "I knew that the struggle for the plaza and for the control of drug routes was imminent, and whoever controls the plaza will have a lot of power. Today the struggle is not only in Sinaloa, but has expanded to Baja California Sur", according to a member of the Security Coordination Group.

Damaso Lopez is trying to control the Plaza of the Cartel de Sinaloa: "The fight of Damaso Lopez is unstable against the Cartel De Sinaloa, we saw it coming from the beginning, here in the State of Sinaloa, and not to far away, for example, in La Paz, since the fall of 'Montoya', principal operator of 'Los Mayitos'; a 'Mayo Zambada cell leader'. What did the "Mayos" did? they turned to Jalisco because the cell of 'Los Damaso' were killing the people of "Mayo", since then, we realize that they had their own game going on", informed a source of Military Intelligence to ZETA.

Then the attacks came back to Culiacan, Sinaloa: The war was more clear when dozens of pick up trucks with armed people headed into hot territory, according to Military sources, "people of 'Los Chapos' (Sons of Chapo') attacked other civilians inside territory controlled by Damaso, and therefore it was really clear for us that the war had been declared. However, the biggest concern is that the war that we are seeing in Sinaloa, will soon be reflected in Baja California Sur", warned the Intelligence Officer.

The interruption of 'Los Chapitos' into territory controlled by 'Los Damaso", is due to the possibility that Damaso Lopez ordered an attack against the sons of "El Chapo", last Saturday 4th of February,  and to the information given in a letter to news corporations, that Chapitos and Mayo are wounded after an ambush. According to military forces, "El Mayo" Zambada was with them during the ambush, and this led to a fight for the control of the Cartel de Sinaloa and the territories that one day belonged to "Chapo".

Sicarios recently executed a drug dealer in a shopping mall of La Paz

The storm that's raging on

"We expected a counter-attack in La Paz from part of the Sinaloa Cartel after the fall of 14 members of Los Damaso, and we thought that the situation was going to deescalate after this events, however, it was the other way around: The fierce Cartel de Sinaloa has easy access to attract people, and there is a lot of police officers that allows them to pass, however we have reduce corrupt officers", according to a member of the Security Public Coordination Group. 

The war of "Los Damaso" has now reached the powerful Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), with a new resource necessary to implement the control of the Plaza of the state of Sinaloa.

After "El Chapo" was extradited to the United States, the Sinaloa Cartel was unstable and certain enemy groups attempted to fight for control of those plazas, however "Los Damaso", felt obligated to respond, and they also fought the plaza.

The dispute was clear two weeks ago, when "Chapulines" were executed -The name given to drug dealers that switch sides-, while, in San Jose del Cabo, two dead bodies were found, botch with signs of torture and bullet wounds.

"The cartel members called us, and told us that there was two dead bodies that had to be picked up", informed a ministerial agent to ZETA.

In February 2nd, in La Paz, the dead bodies of the Iribe Brothers were found, and Intelligence Officers realized that they were hunting the "chapulines", because after the fall of "Los Mayitos", they started working with "Los Damaso", then they change sides with "Jalisco" and they were hunted down by Sinaloa. 

Iribe Brothers, a clear vengeance of Sinaloa

According to a report given to ZETA, there are 3 Brothers: "El Goyo", "El Rigo" and "El Jaime", of ages, 35, 30 and 29, from the State of Sinaloa.

During the investigations, neighbors claim that "El Goyo" was Levantado (Kidnapped) a few hours before the firefight by an armed commando, according to the information, 3 man arrived on board a pick up truck and ordered the older brother to "turn in his two brothers or they were going to kill the whole family because we know where they are'... therefore he decided to turn over his brothers".

With this triple homicide we have confirmed the counter attack of Sinaloa.

To this moment, 61 persons have been executed in 2017, and only 39 in Los Cabos, which makes it clear that Los Cabos is the Plaza to dispute, "we know according to our investigations, that there are people in Culiacan that are preparing themselves to fight for Los Cabos. It is a shame that we are going to become in a war zone, because our territory is valuable to the cartels", affirmed the member of the Security Council, and he has to theories: 

* The most probable, is that with the instability that is going in Sinaloa, the situation in Baja California Sur will de-escalate, because they need manpower for the fight in Culiacan between "Los Chapos" and "Los Damaso".

*A counter attack from CJNG, because they will realize that Sinaloa has become weaker, and therefore they will take advantage to take control of the Plaza of Sinaloa, and "Los Mayitos" could support the CJNG.

There are talks that Damaso Lopez formed an alliance with Amado Carrillo "El Señor de los Cielos, direct enemy of Chapo Guzman.