A Mexican drug cartel appears to be ready to go to war once more with the fearsome Sinaloa Cartel. The hostilities began in the most offensive way, the Beltran Leyva Cartel ransacked the home of Consuelo Loera Perez, the mother of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera.
The attack took place on Saturday when 150 gunmen from the Beltran Leyva Cartel stormed into the small town of Badiraguato, Sinaloa, Mexico’s Proceso Magazine reported. During the assault the gunmen killed eight individuals. Only three bodies have been recovered. The town of Badiraguato, in the La Tuna municipality, gained a certain degree of fame as people began to associate the region with the birthplace of Guzman Loera.
During the attack, the gunmen went straight into Consuelo Loera’s home where they cut the phone lines and internet access and then stole various items from the house. Some of the stolen items include two Razor carts and three ATV’s. The gunmen reportedly stole other vehicles from the town and other nearby towns. According to Proceso, the witnesses claimed to have seen gunmen from the Beltran Leyva cartel who are currently being led by Isidro “Chapito” Meza Flores.
The hostile takeover created an exodus as citizens from various towns fled to Badiraguato, and to the State Capital of Culiacan, seeking refuge from the violence. Mexican authorities claimed to be preparing a special operation with the help of the military to retake the region. As of Wednesday afternoon, no action had been taken.
The brazen attack against the Sinaloa Cartel comes just weeks after one of their top lieutenants was killed in a gun battle. In late May, two groups of gunmen clashed in the rural community of Laborcita in the border state of Sonora. That area was controlled by 48-year-old Adan Salazar. Information obtained from Sonora state authorities points to Salazar being killed during that clash.
Unknown gunmen later dropped off Salazar’s body at a funeral home in Navojoa, Sonora.
Adan Salazar inherited control of portions of northern Sonora and Southern Arizona from his father, long-time capo Don Adan Salazar, after his arrest. Known as the Salazar’s, the Sinaloa Cartel faction was loyal to Guzman Loera and had been successful in controlling the corridor from Northern Mexico into Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona.
As Breitbart Texas recently reported, the recent increase in violence has resulted in cartel gunmen operating in southern Arizona as they guard their drug loads and hunt for rival gunmen. The issue was made public by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu who issued a warning to the residents of his county.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.