As tensions between the two most powerful sections of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel increase, violence broke out on Monday.
It follows the US arrest of trafficker and Los Mayos faction leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
The cartel boss, who is thought to be in his mid-seventies, said that he was abducted by a senior member of the Los Chapitos gang and forced to fly across the border.
In Culiacan, the state capital, transportation has been running at a reduced capacity as many people have taken refuge in their houses rather than going to work.
Since Zambada’s arrest, the federal government of Mexico has dispatched around 500 special forces to the state.
The military, according to outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is attempting to uphold law and order. He also stated that authorities “have to try to ensure that the population is not affected and that they don’t fight each other.”.
