Two Mexican mayors had their vehicles taken at gunpoint by cartel operators in the state of Sinaloa. The region has been overwhelmed by a fierce turf war between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. The carjackings do not appear to have been coordinated, but both took place at around the same time as both mayors traveled to the state capital to meet with the governor.
The high-profile carjackings come as rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel clashed over the weekend, leaving more than 30 dead.
The two carjackings took place on Sunday afternoon as Estrella Palacios Dominguez, the mayor of Mazatlan, and Octavio Bastidas, the mayor of San Ignacio, were traveling to the state capital Culiacan, Mexico’s Proceso reported. Palacios’ carjacking was just south of Culiacan, near the town of Quila, while Bastida’s took place just a few miles away, near the town of Pueblos Unidos.
In both cases, a group of gunmen forced them off the road at gunpoint and then, after getting them out of their vehicle, drove off with the mayors.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, the violence in Sinaloa is attributed to the July 25 capture of cartel boss Ismael El Mayo Zambada at the hands of Los Chapitos faction. Zambada’s Godson Joaquin Guzman Lopez had called a meeting with top government officials only to have his gunmen tie up Zambada and fly him to Texas to the waiting hands of U.S. authorities.
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.