GRAPHIC: Sinaloa Cartel Gunmen Pack Bodies in Van as Hundreds Killed, Taken Amid Turf War

The impotence of Mexico’s military forces has become evident as gunmen with the Sinaloa Cartel continue a fierce turf war that led to almost 100 murders and 170 abductions. In the most recent show of force, gunmen left a van full of bodies with the message Welcome to Culiacan painted on the side.

Over the weekend, cartel gunmen parked a white van packed with bodies in Culiacan, the state capital of Sinaloa. The bodies inside the van had all been wrapped in trash bags and showed signs of torture. According to information provided to Breitbart Texas by Mexican federal law enforcement sources, the bodies in the van all wore tactical-style clothing. They showed execution-style gunshot wounds to the head. Some of the bodies also showed various other gunshot wounds, pointing to the victims having taken part in a shootout.

The gory crime scene comes as the turf war between the Chapitos faction and the Mayos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel rages creeps into its third week after the violence began on September 9. According to official government figures, as of Friday, there have been 98 murders and 198 abductions in Sinaloa since the fighting started. However, the actual figures are believed to be much higher since Mexico’s government has been trying to minimize the violence and is believed to be undercounting the cases.

Mexico’s outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who political rivals have repeatedly accused of being in bed with drug cartels, has blamed the violence on the U.S. government for having arrested Zambada.

As Breitbart Texas has reported, the violence is tied to the July 25 capture of Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada at the hand of his godson Joaquin Guzman Lopez. The most current version of the capture points to Guzman and his brothers, the Chapitos, having called a meeting with top politicians and El Mayo at a ranch in Sinaloa. However, when El Mayo arrived, gunmen from Los Chapitos captured him, tied him up, and placed him in an airplane that flew straight to an area near El Paso, Texas, where U.S. federal agents were waiting for him.

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.