Warring Violence in Sinaloa

As of September 21, the violence in Sinaloa, Mexico has killed more than 50 people with 51 missing, according to Reuters. This violence leaves many towns, cities and neighboring states paralyzed. The government is  sending numerous soldiers to reassure safety in the region. According to Al Jazeera, “Mexican authorities said on Saturday that another 600 soldiers had arrived in Sinaloa to help reinforce security.”

For the violence to end in Sinaloa, some believe it is dependent on the two rival cartels to stop. “On Monday, the regional army commander, Jesús Leana Ojeda, said the possibility of the situation calming down does not depend on them. ‘It depends on the antagonistic groups to stop confronting each other,’ he said at a news briefing,” according to the AP.

Former President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador claims the U.S. was partially responsible for the violence. United States Ambassador for Mexico Ken Salazar denies the former president’s claim. 

This month, the newly appointed President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, has been sworn into office during this wave of violence in the country. “However, after being elected president in June, she pledged: ‘I commit myself to you to lead Mexico along the path of peace, security, democracy, freedom, equality and justice.’ And Sheinbaum is certainly no stranger to tackling crime,” according to The Conversation, a network of nonprofit media outlets. President Sheinbaum`s term comes after former President Obrador`s term has completed, since Mexico has a single six-year term policy for presidents. 

President Sheinbaum is expected to have a massive challenge with a nation riddled with death. According to The New York Times, “Ms. Sheinbaum will be in charge of a nation plagued by over 30,000 murders a year, 90 percent of which go unsolved, and she will have to face the powerful cartels behind those numbers, which are now networks of paramilitary organized crime and deeply embedded in communities.” 

Events Leading up to the Violence

On September 9, violence in Sinaloa was escalated by two rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, after two cartel leaders were arrested late in July, resulting in frequent clashes in Culiacan, the capital of the state.

An arrest of El Mayo along with another Sinaloa cartel leader has been organized by the son of El Chapo Guzman, Joaquin Guzman Lopez. According to CNN, “Guzman Lopez organized his arrest along with that of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, 76, who co-founded the cartel with El Chapo, by luring Zambada on a flight to examine a piece of land he thought was in Mexico, an official familiar with the operation told CNN.”

“Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a senior crime boss in a rival faction of the Sinaloa Cartel who had been holding talks with the U.S. about surrendering,” Reuters reported.

Experts including Mike Vigil, a former U.S Drug Enforcement Administration agent, says that Guzman Lopez exchanged Zambada for benefits for himself along with his brother Ovidio Guzman Lopez, according to Al Jazeera. 

Even though Zambada was arrested for a handful of charges, he might not face prison due to the result of his charge. According to Voice Of America, “Zambada has pleaded not guilty to seven federal charges in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Most of the charges involve drug trafficking, use of firearms and homicide.”

Effects of Cartel Violence 

The violence in Sinaloa has not only affected people there, but has spread to neighboring states, like Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua and Durango. 

There are homicides on the street, children are not going to school and businesses close early.   

According to El Pais, a newspaper from Spain, “‘You see fewer people on the streets and businesses close early,’ says Eduardo López, a freelance journalist from Ciudad Obregon, in southern Sonora, near Sinaloa and one of the cities with the highest number of homicides in the country.”

“As the warring cartel factions and authorities have clashed in firefights, helicopters regularly circle overhead and military rove the streets of the capital. Families have said they are scared to send their children to school,” according to the Associated Press. 

Due to the ongoing violence in Mexico, Americans are instructed to be cautious while traveling in the country, like making sure to “avoid getting caught up with unexpected street violence,” while canceling vacations and business trips to Mexico is not recommended yet, according to the Border Report. 

Brief History of the Sinaloa Cartel 

According to Britannica, the Sinaloa cartel traces its roots from the Guadelajara cartel, which was one of the largest crime organizations in Mexico during the early 1980s. There was a crackdown on the cartel after they tortured and murdered DEA agent Enrique Camarena Salazar in 1985. By the end of the 1980s, the Guadelajara cartel separated into various groups, which led to one cartel based in Sinaloa. 

The Sinaloa cartel is one of the oldest cartels that originated from the Guadelajara cartel. They are responsible for supplying drugs on the streets of the U.S., including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl, CNN reports.  

The Colombia cartels were also active during the 1980s. The Colombian cartels were declining in the early 90s, which led to a rise in popularity with Mexican cartels. 

According to Britannica, “As Mexico gained popularity as a drug route, the strength of its criminal organizations grew, especially that of the Sinaloa cartel, which benefited from Guzman’s innovative methods of smuggling, notably through tunnels, and his extensive use of bribes.” 

El Chapo Ascent to Power

“Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s ascent to power resulted from a combination of factors, including his strategic leadership within the Sinaloa Cartel, his ruthless tactics, and the dynamics of the drug trade in Mexico,” according to El Pais. 

Between 1992 and 1993, there was a battle between the Sinaloa cartel and the Tijuana cartel. According to InSight Crime,  “In November 1992, Guzmán sent 40 armed men to break into a Tijuana Cartel party in Puerto Vallarta, killing nine people. The Tijuana Cartel responded by trying to assassinate Guzmán at the Guadalajara airport in 1993, but instead assassinated a Mexican Catholic cardinal.”

In 1993, El Chapo had fled to Guatemala, but he was captured near the border of Mexico and Guatemala, and two years after, was transferred to another prison. According to Time Magazine, “The maximum security prison Puente Grande, where he was transferred in 1995, became his new base of operations.”  

El Mayo`s Role in the Sinaloa Cartel

Before El Mayo was arrested, he was one of the last old-school drug caporegimes, which are heads of the branch of organized crime syndicates. He was in charge of various operations of the cartel. 

“The millions of dollars generated from the drug sales were then transported back to Mexico,” according to the Justice Department.

“To ensure the success of the cartel, Zambada Garcia employed individuals to obtain transportation routes and warehouses to import and store narcotics, and “sicarios,” or hit men, to carry out kidnappings and murders in Mexico to retaliate against rivals who threatened the cartel,” the Justice Department continued.

“El Mayo also allegedly expanded the power and influence of the Sinaloa Cartel by making millions of dollars each year in corruption payments and conducting regular campaigns of brutal violence, including retaliatory murders that were allegedly committed on his orders as recently as just weeks prior to his arrest,” the Justice Department added.