Dozens killed in rivals' battle for control of Sinaloa cartel in Mexico | Drug news

At least 10 other people were killed when the government deployed 600 soldiers to bolster security in the face of gang violence.

At least ten more people have reportedly been killed in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, bringing the number of dead and missing to over 100. The reason for this is clashes between rival gangsters and the brutal violence that seems to have no end.

The latest act of violence, reported by authorities and media on Sunday, occurred after the surprise arrest of the co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, in the United States at the end of July. The arrest is believed to have triggered an internal power struggle within the group.

Since September 9, about 70 people have been killed in the state, most of them in the capital, Culiacán, the AFP news agency reported, citing figures from authorities and the press.

Reuters news agency reported that another 51 people were missing as a result of the violence.

The first of the three incidents on Saturday in the central Tres Rios district of Culiacán was a shootout between police and suspected hitmen, after which unknown assailants blocked a street with cars and motorcycles about 200 meters from the prosecutor's office.

Separately, security officers were attacked by armed men who then fled into a residential building.

In an ensuing shootout, three suspected gunmen were killed, one arrested and two soldiers injured, Governor Ruben Rocha Moya wrote on X.

On Saturday, Rocha traveled to Mexico City to meet with President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum.

The federal government also sent 600 soldiers on Saturday to increase security in Sinaloa.

Mexican media also reported seven more deaths.

The bodies of five people were left on the street, half-naked and wearing hats. This was probably a message of intimidation to the warring parties. No details were released about the other two deaths.

There has been no comment from the authorities on the deaths so far.

Zambada, 76, was arrested on July 25 after crossing the U.S. border. He claims he was kidnapped in Mexico and taken into U.S. custody against his will.

He was arrested along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of Sinaloa cartel co-founder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.

The wave of violence is believed to be causing gang members loyal to El Chapo and his sons to rebel against other gang members allied with Zambada.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who will step down at the end of the month, has blamed the United States for part of the blame, saying it unilaterally planned Zambada's arrest.

US Ambassador Ken Salazar denied the claim on Friday.

“What is happening in Sinaloa is not the fault of the United States,” he said, adding that the US could not be held responsible for “the massacres we are seeing in various places.”