New Narco-War Erupting in Sinaloa Between Chapitos and El Mayo

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

El Mayo (left); Chapitos: Ovidio and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán (center and right)

The city of Culiacán is the battleground of a new narco-war. An internal war inside the Sinaloa Cartel threatens to overflow. It is between two protagonists: the sons of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán (Los Chapitos) and a faction headed by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

It all started last November when a commando of eight cloned vehicles from the Sinaloa State Police stormed the Agua Caliente area, a northern sector of Culiacán. This is a turf controlled by "El Ruso", the regional boss in the area and a close enforcer of El Mayo.

The commando was headed "Nini", a chief operating officer of Los Chapitos. That evening, Nini's men were intercepted by El Ruso's faction while driving through one of their roads. El Ruso's men asked them what they were doing in their turf. "I am from here," Nini said, who was apparently born in a community near Agua Caliente. "Doesn't matter. This is El Mayo's territory", El Ruso's men explained.

Various versions collected by the Sinaloa-based newspaper Ríodoce established that in the heated discussion one of the hitmen said they supported Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar (one of El Chapo's sons) and not El Mayo. He proceeded to insult El Mayo. Those comments were an unforgivable offense. Hours or days later El Mayo's henchmen asked Los Chapitos to hand over that person. They refused. A day later deaths started to pile up around Culiacán. The war had officially begun.

Previous events

On 3 December 2019, large groups of armed been appeared throughout Culiacán. They moved throughout the northern part of the city, near Loma de Rodriguera. Social media news spread very quickly showing pictures of these gunmen out on the street in broad daylight.

The government gave the order to close down schools. Businesses in Culiacán followed suit and closed for the day as well. The precedent of the Culiacanazo - when the Sinaloa Cartel prevented the capture of Ovidio Guzmán López (one of El Chapo's sons) last October - was still in the collective memory of Culiacán residents. Fear and panic soon spread.

Armed men in Culiacán on 26 February 2020

Multiple killings were recorded throughout Culiacán in the following days. But on 26 February 2020, the Sinaloa Cartel made another bold display of their manpower. Gunmen stormed into a house in Rubén Jaramillo neighborhood and killed a young man who had just been released from prison. Another young man was wounded in the attack.

Panic spread through Culiacán again as residents shared pictures of armed men out in public roadways. The police responded by sending its officers to the streets. The gunmen left as quickly as they arrived. The city's public security director Cristóbal Castañeda Camarillo asked residents to not spread rumors and remain calm. He confirmed that the city's surveillance cameras captured heavily armed men roaming through the city. Most were seen in various sectors of Culiacán like Las Quintas and La Campiña. After these events, the friction between Los Chapitos and El Mayo's faction was evident.

The northern part of Culiacán is considered a stronghold of El Ruso, though some parts of this sector (like Mojolo, Paredones, Limón de los Ramos and Jesús María) are controlled by Los Chapitos.

Jeep Cherokee involved in 6 March 2020 shootout

On 6 March 2020, a shootout broke out in Loma de Rodriguera. Four men who were traveling in a Grand Cherokee were sprayed with bullets by another unit. The vehicle (pictured above) was abandoned in front of the neighborhood's park, but the four men were not there.

Minutes after the shootout, a wounded suspect was taken to a nearby hospital. His name was José Alberto Vega (age 37) and he is the son of a former police officer. While he was being treated by paramedics at the hospital, gunmen stormed the building and went to his room. They forced him out of the hospital and shoved him into a vehicle.

However, a military convoy was nearby and successfully prevented the gunmen from taking Vega. The gunmen surrendered and were taken into custody. It was not established if the gunmen wanted to rescue or abduct and eventually kill Vega, but panic had already spread through the hospital.

José Alberto Vega, the suspect injured in the shootout

As Culiacán authorities gave a press conference about the hospital incident, they were notified of an attack against police officers in Rolando Arjona street in Pradera Dorada neighborhood. When the gunmen noticed that other police officers were following them, they got off their vehicles and disarmed and slapped the policemen. The gunmen then shot at the air. This was captured in video by several eye-witnesses who shared the recordings on social media.

Meetings

The federal cabinet met in Mazatlán to address the issues. Among those present was the Security and Citizen Protection head Alfonso Durazo as well as the heads of the Defense and Navy and the National Guard. The mayor of Mazatlán and the Governor of Sinaloa were also present.

But another meeting took place that same day. Representatives of El Mayo and Los Chapitos were present. They agreed that the war should stop, but El Ruso did not want to reach an agreement. Both groups agreed that the dispute would be settled separately by waging a war in Culiacán.

Source(s): Riodoce (1); Riodoce (2); Silla Rota