Mexico: Bloodshed With At least 15 Dead in Account Clearing Between Sinaloa Cartel Members · Global Voices

At least 15 people have found death and 20 more have been kidnapped since Monday (09.09.2024) in the state of Sinaloa, northwestern Mexico, in incidents attributed to clearing accounts between opposing groups of one of the most powerful drug cartels in the country, prosecutors announced. The armed conflicts that shock Kuliacan, the capital of this Mexican state, follow the arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Sabada, co-founder – along with Joaquin “El Chapo” Gusman, who is serving a life sentence in the US – the Sinaloa drug cartel. Sabada was arrested on July 25 by the American authorities along with Joaquin Gusman Lopez, one of the sons of the notorious “El Chapo”. In a letter, he accuses Joaquin Gusman Lopez of setting him up to lead him to American territory. According to the governor of Sinaloa, the conflicts between Ismael’s henchmen “El Mayo” Sabada and Joaquin’s sons “El Chapo” Gusman, the so-called “Los Chapitos” are raging. El Mayo on the stand (sketch from the court)/ Reuters Before a New York court, Sabada declined on Friday the drug trafficking charges. Commenting on the recent outbreak of violence in Sinaloa, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador admitted that “there are problems” even though strong security forces developed in the region. “I would like to tell the residents of Kuliacan – because only Kuliakan is involved – that we are alert, that they must pay attention, but there is no need for panic,” he said at a press conference. The president of Mexico also called on the opposing parties to show basic responsibility.