As The Chapitos launched an aggressive bid to take over the cartel’s operations, violence exploded in their hometown in Sinaloa, leaving communities devastated
News Desk
MEXICO: At least 192 people have been killed in a violent power struggle between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico’s northwestern state of Sinaloa, a civilian watchdog reported on Wednesday. The wave of bloodshed, which erupted on September 9, has plunged the region into turmoil, with nearly 200 murders and 226 disappearances reported in just over a month, according to the State Public Security Council.
The violence stems from a battle for control of the cartel following the July 25 arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a co-founder and long-time leader of the criminal organisation. Zambada’s detention by US authorities in El Paso, Texas, set the stage for an intense internal conflict between his loyalists and the faction led by the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, collectively known as “The Chapitos.” Guzman, once a feared leader of the cartel, is currently serving a life sentence in a US prison.
The fallout from the arrest has been swift and brutal. As The Chapitos launched an aggressive bid to take over the cartel’s operations, violence exploded in their hometown in Sinaloa, leaving communities devastated. Around 200 families have fled their homes, while 180 businesses have shuttered, resulting in 2,000 job losses. The escalation in violence has prompted a heavy security response. Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya confirmed last week that 590 National Guard troops had been deployed to the region, alongside reinforcements from the Air Force, Navy, and State Police.
While Moya expressed cautious optimism that these forces might help contain the violence, he acknowledged that the situation remains far from resolved. “We hope they will help us,” he said, adding that the coordinated efforts of security forces had already begun to make a dent in the violence. “Unfortunately, however, we cannot say that it has been completely resolved yet.”
The conflict is the latest chapter in Mexico’s long and bloody war against drug cartels, which have become deeply entrenched in the country’s social and political fabric. The rivalry within the Sinaloa Cartel—once unified under the leadership of Guzman and Zambada—has laid bare the dangerous volatility of these criminal networks. The Chapitos’ bid for dominance has ignited a brutal civil war within the cartel, one that threatens not only Sinaloa’s stability but also Mexico’s broader efforts to combat cartel-related violence.