Six months of conflict, how many more? : By RIODOCE

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This article was posted by RIODOCE 

WRITTEN BY: ALEJANDRO MONJARDIN 

MARCH 10, 2025 

The first half of the fight between Chapos and Mayos left a trail of death and disappearances; despite the measures, the numbers remain chilling.

Culiacán and the southern part of the state have been immersed in a drug dispute for six months, leaving thousands of victims.

Since September 9 of last year, Mayos and Chapos have been engaged in an internal struggle in which they have used not only firearms, but also explosives and a video surveillance system superior to that of the state.

According to statistics from the State Attorney General's Office, between September 9, 2024, and March 6, 959 people were murdered, including 34 minors.

Wilful homicides have decreased compared to the first month of the dispute, but are still far from the levels seen before the fight began.

In August, there were 44 murders; in September, with the ongoing dispute, the number rose to 142; in October, to 182; in November, to 175; in December, to 156; in January, to 138; and in February, to 120.

Due to the wave of violence, after two years of not appearing, Culiacán returned to the list of the 50 most violent cities in the world in 2024, ranking 17th.

The ongoing dispute between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel has been more violent than in the early months of 2008, when the Beltrán Leyva gangs clashed with Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and "El Mayo" Zambada.

The dispute with the Beltrán Leyva gangs began on April 30 with a confrontation in the Guadalupe neighborhood, and during the first six months, there were 666 murders and 2,926 vehicle thefts.

The peak of homicides was in 2010, when more than 200 murders were committed per month, and the year closed with 2,250 crimes.

Missing Persons

The conflict that began in 2024 worsened the state's already-unknown disappearance crisis. Between September and March, 1,263 people disappeared, of whom only 436 have been located.

2024 closed with 1,271 missing persons, while in 2023 there were 751, in 2022 there were 898, in 2021 there were 951, in 2020 there were 882, and in 2019 there were 1,089.

Photo: CUARTOSCURO

Search groups estimate that the number of missing persons is higher than that reported by the FGE (Argentine State Police) because many cases go unreported.

Vehicle Theft

With the outbreak of the dispute, vehicle theft also increased, primarily in Culiacán.

During the first few days, trucks used to block roads and hundreds of cars were stolen.

On September 9 alone, 32 vehicles were stolen in Culiacán, according to FGE data; and the day with the most thefts was Friday, October 11, when 67 vehicles were stolen.

According to the Executive Secretariat of the State Public Security System, of the 3,422 vehicles stolen in the last six months, authorities have recovered 957.

Explosive Attacks

The fight within the cartel has involved technology, and attacks are no longer limited to firearms, but also drones and explosives.

In October, explosives claimed the first casualty, and it was circumstantial. An elderly man was driving his vehicle on the highway from Eldorado to Las Arenitas. He got out to move some sacks that were blocking the road, resulting in an explosion that left him dead.

A month later, drones dropped explosives in the mangrove area of ​​the Las Arenitas fishing camp; in Culiacán, on the Heroico Colegio Militar roadway, in front of the Ninth Military Zone facilities, they located an unexploded homemade explosive; and in the communities of Maloya and Charco Hondo in Rosario, explosives were dropped from the air.

On Friday, February 28, an explosion shook houses and woke residents in the eastern part of Culiacán after a device was detonated in the 5 de Febrero neighborhood, resulting in no fatalities.

The highway leading to the Costa Rica municipality has been closed to traffic several times due to the detection of explosives.

On Thursday, March 6, in the municipality of Rosario, two drones, 14 drone explosives, and 31 improvised explosives were seized after a confrontation.

Cameras and C-4 Drug Traffickers

In the operations implemented after the outbreak of the dispute, they discovered a surveillance center in the Las Quintas neighborhood, from which cameras installed on city streets were monitored.

Since February 20, a total of 635 cameras installed on public infrastructure in the municipalities of Culiacán, Navolato, and Mazatlán have been removed.

The drug cartel's video surveillance system was superior to that of the State Public Security Secretariat, which only has 222 cameras in operation.

Murdered Minors

Since September, 34 minors have been murdered in the state. On January 19, in the Los Ángeles sector, shots were fired at a vehicle in which Antonio de Jesús was traveling with his sons, Alexander, 9, and Gael Antonio, 12, and another minor named Adolfo, 17.

The father and his two sons died, prompting the school where one of the children attended to organize a march on Thursday, the 23rd, to demand justice.

Hundreds of people attended the rally, marching to the Government Palace where, after breaking down doors, they reached the office of Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, demanding justice and the president's resignation.

Three days later, on Sunday, January 23, hundreds of citizens once again took to the streets chanting "Out with Rocha!" and the president responded that he would not leave the governorship through marches, only through the mechanisms established in the Constitution.

Last Tuesday, 14-year-old Regina died in a hospital after being injured in a confrontation in the Villa Juárez municipality on Thursday, February 27.

A week before Regina was injured, a car wash was attacked in the Adolfo Ruiz Cortínez neighborhood, killing 14-year-old Carlos Felipe, who worked there.

Incidental Victims and Police

During the clashes between hitmen, incidental victims who were injured have also been reported.

On the afternoon of February 17, a shootout and chase broke out between gunmen in the Cañadas, Infonavit Barrancos, Antonio Nakayama, Plutarco Elías Calles, Adolfo Ruíz Cortines, and Felipe Ángeles neighborhoods.

The death toll was two gunmen and nine people injured, including a 5-year-old child. All the injured were accidental victims.

Photo: CUARTOSCURO

Police forces have also been targeted by criminals, and in six months, 25 officers and former officers have been killed, primarily from the Culiacán Municipal Public Security and Transit Secretariat.

Just last week, municipal police officers Ezequiel, Petra Emilia, and Joel Alberto were found murdered. They were kidnapped on February 28 while responding to a homicide report in the municipality of Costa Rica.

Since September, eight Culiacán municipal police officers have been killed; five from the Mazatlán Municipal Public Security and Transit Secretariat; two from the State Preventive Police; two from the Navolato Municipal Public Security Directorate; three from the FGE Investigative Police; one from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection; and four from the Secretariat of National Defense.

It's not just Culiacán

In the first days of the dispute, the area near the southern exit of the city and the southern districts were the scene of the dispute.

As the days passed, it spread to the municipalities of Elota, Mazatlán, and Rosario.

Last week, in Potrerillos del Norote and Pueblo Nuevo, in Elota, there were clashes, in which one body was left hanging at the entrance to Potrerillos, another in the cemetery, and five on a dirt road.

Mexico City's International Highway 15 in Culiacán was one of the places where gunmen dumped bodies and clashed, but in recent weeks, the eastern sector of Culiacán has experienced constant gunfire.

The Barrio, Amistad, 5 de Febrero, and Guadalupe Victoria areas continually report shootings, murders, and the burning of homes and businesses.

The wave of violence forced federal authorities to reinforce their presence in the state, and by December, the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection confirmed that there were 11,000 federal agents on hand. Last February, more than 3,000 agents were deployed for the 2025 Mazatlán Carnival.

The celebration passed without incident, but the performances of Jorge Medina and Josi Cuen at the coronation of the King of Joy and Grupo Firme at the coronation of the Queen were canceled. The day after a banner was left in Tijuana with a message threatening to kill them if they appeared at the carnival.

Due to the insecurity, the 2024 celebration of the Grito de Independencia at the Government Palace and the Livestock Fair in Culiacán had already been canceled.

Targeted Strikes

In the operations, cartel leaders have been arrested, including Fernando Pérez, alias "El Piyi," on September 19, as an alleged operator of Los Chapitos; Juan Carlos Félix, alias "El Chavo Félix," son-in-law of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, on January 18.

In February, Army personnel captured Los Chapitos pilot Mauro Alberto Núñez Ojeda, alias "El Jando," in the municipality of Jesús María, in a shootout involving aerial fire.

The town's mayor confirmed that the confrontation was not with hitmen, but rather between soldiers who arrived by helicopter and fired at soldiers on the ground.

In Tierra Blanca, Los Chapitos financial operator José Ángel Canobbio Inzunza, alias "El Güerito," was arrested; An air and ground operation was deployed in various sectors of the city, later extending to the municipality of Culiacancito, where Kevin Castro Gil was captured.

Article published on March 9, 2025, in issue 1154 of the weekly Ríodoce.

SOURCE: RIODOCE