Sinaloa Cartel Turf War Escalates Leaving Dozens Killed

The escalating turf war between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel led to the deaths of dozens of gunmen and innocent bystanders. The turf war also led to dozens of abductions, spreading terror among locals.

Several key cities in the Mexican state of Sinaloa have become ghost towns as locals try to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Despite the raging violence, Mexico’s government continues trying to downplay the severity of the fighting.

Violence broke out again last week when gunmen loyal to the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, known as Los Chapitos, began clashing with gunmen loyal to the son of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. The fighting follows weeks of tension as both sides built up their armies following the arrest of El Mayo on July 25.

After five days of fighting from September 9 to September 13, Sinaloa’s Attorney General’s Office confirmed 20 killings, 28 abductions, and 37 carjackings. As the violence continued over the weekend, those numbers continued to climb. According to a report by  El Sol De Mexico, by Sunday, there had been 11 additional murders, including two women who are believed to have been innocent bystanders.

As Breitbart Texas has been reporting, El Mayo had been called to a meeting with one of El Chapo’s sons, his godson Joaquin Guzman Lopez, and some high-ranking politicians. However, when he arrived, Guzman and his gunmen captured him and placed him in an airplane that flew from Sinaloa to a private airport near El Paso, Texas, where U.S. authorities were waiting. The perceived betrayal led to a rupture within the Sinaloa Cartel, Mexico’s most powerful criminal organization.

Amid the violence, Sinaloa’s Governor Ruben Rocha Moya has allegedly become a target, Mexico’s Proceso reported claiming that leaked cartel audio claimed that Rocha Moya had sided with Los Chapitos. At the time of El Mayo’s capture, it had been rumored that Rocha Moya, an ally of Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador,  was supposed to be at the narco-meeting.  Mexico’s government denied his involvement, claiming he was out of the country at the time.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.