The Mexican head of state implicates the United States in part for the surge in violence in Sinaloa.
During a press conference yesterday, President López Obrador suggested that the US played a role in fueling hostility between factions within the Sinaloa drug cartel following the arrest of two cartel leaders in the US.
On July 25, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was apprehended alongside Joaquín Guzmán López, son of infamous drug kingpin "El Chapo" Guzmán. The two were apprehended after landing near El Paso, Texas in a small plane.
Zambada would later allege that he was "ambushed" and "kidnapped" by Guzmán López, and then handed over to US authorities. He recounted the ordeal in a statement released by his attorney in August, stating, "A group of men attacked me, knocked me to the ground, and covered my head with a dark-colored hood. I was tied, handcuffed, and forced into the back of a pickup. I was driven to a landing strip, and then forced onto the US-bound private plane."
The motive behind Guzmán López's surrender to US authorities and his subsequent transportation of Zambada remains unclear.
President López Obrador accused the US Department of Justice of having "agreements" with an organized criminal group that led to Zambada's arrest, referring to the operation as a kidnapping. CNN has reached out to the US Department of Justice for comment on the President's allegations.
In response, US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar denied any involvement of Washington in Zambada's arrest, stating, "It was not a US plane, it was not a US pilot, it was not our agents or our people in Mexico. This was an operation between the cartels, where one handed over to the other."
In the days following the arrests, violent clashes broke out in Sinaloa between what Mexican authorities call rival factions loyal to Zambada and those led by other sons of "El Chapo." At least 49 people have been killed since September 9, according to official figures. Numerous cases of dead bodies with gunshot wounds have been found in the streets, on highways, and in various locations across Sinaloa.
Governor Ruben Rocha Moya was forced to suspend Independence Day celebrations last week and cancel classes at all levels for two days due to the escalating violence.
"In Sinaloa, there wasn’t the violence that there is now," López Obrador stated during the press conference. However, he denied that the situation in the state is entirely out of control, insisting that Mexican authorities are managing it.
"No, we are there, but we have had to take special measures and move elements of the Armed Forces. We have also lost officers who have been killed due to this special, extraordinary situation," López Obrador explained.
Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval confirmed that at least two soldiers had died last week during the violence in Sinaloa.
The arrests of Zambada and Guzmán López in the US have sparked tensions between the factions within the Sinaloa cartel across the Americas. Moreover, the world is closely watching the escalating violence in Sinaloa and the international implications of these incidents.
