Mexico’s government announced the deployment of more than 1,800 federal troops to the cartel-controlled state of Sinaloa. Despite prior deployments, the Sinaloa Cartel continues to wage a fierce turf war that has killed thousands and led to the disappearance of thousands more.
This week, Mexico’s top security official, Omar García Harfuch, announced the deployment of 1,800 troops, including 1,000 Mexican Navy infantrymen, to the port city of Mazatlán, aimed at increasing presence there and in the state capital of Culiacán.
The move comes as Mazatlán continues to see a high number of murders each day as two main factions of the Sinaloa Cartel –Los Chapitos and La Mayiza continue to fight for control.
On Monday, Mazatlán saw numerous killings, including the murder of a U.S. citizen who was outside of a seafood restaurant.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the violence in Sinaloa is linked to an ongoing turf war between two factions that began when Los Chapitos kidnapped Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and flew him to Texas into the waiting hands of U.S. agents. That perceived betrayal created a rift between El Mayo’s family and Los Chapitos.
In the two years since the fighting started, Sinaloa has seen more than 3,100 murders and at least 5,000 forced disappearances, according to statistics from law enforcement and human rights groups; however, the true number is expected to be much higher.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.