More than 100 killed or missing as Sinaloa Cartel civil war rages in Mexico

Schools, restaurants and shops have had to close (Picture: AP)

More than 100 have been left dead or missing in Mexico after the notorious Sinaloa Cartel descended into a bloody civil war.

The conflict between the two factions began in July 2024, when ‘legendary’ trafficker and cartel leader Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada was arrested in the United States.

Zambada, who is now 74 years old, has claimed that another senior member of another cartel faction Los Chapitos kidnapped him and flew him to the States against his will.

Violence and fighting escalated on Monday, September 9 in capital Culiacan, where schools, restaurants and shops have had to close on some days.

The state has seen violent unrest over the last two weeks (Picture: REUTERS)

Over 100 people are believed to have died in the conflict (Picture: AP)

Governor Rubén Rocha Moya has said more than 40 people have been arrested over the last few days.

The state has received more than 5,000 food packages, that have been handed out across Sinaloa.

The Mexican military allegedly arrested the head of security for Ivan Archivaldo Guzman, the leader of Los Chapitos and son of jailed former Sinaloa kingpin, Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman on Thursday, after struggling to calm the violence in the area.

‘El Piyi’ Fernando Perez Medina was also contained in Culiacan, federal security sources say.

Mexico’s Federal Environmental Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) have said they are supporting local authorities to care for a female tiger that was found tied to a tree.

The cartel have exotic pets, such as lions and tigers (Picture: Twitter/Ivan Guzman)

The predators are often kept by senior Sinaloan narcos as pets.

Vets in the area have reportedly declined to assist the local authorities over security fears.

Profepa have provided military officials with a ‘cage, a dart rife, and darts’, however they are unable to get to the beast due to the violence in the area.

The Mexican military have reportedly ‘struggled’ to calm the violence (Picture: AP)

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday that the United States were partly to blame for the unrest as they ‘carried out’ the surrender talks between US officials and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the trafficker who allegedly kidnapped Zambada.

US officials confirmed they had held talks with Guzman, but were surprised to see Zambada in the States.

No US resources or personnel were involved in the July 25 kidnapping of Zambada, claimed US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *