The Mexican army troops have successfully neutralized 19 suspected drug cartel gunmen in a recent shootout in the northern state of Sinaloa. The Defense Department confirmed that there were no casualties among the soldiers involved in the operation.
The confrontation took place on the outskirts of Culiacan, the state capital of Sinaloa, where two factions of the Sinaloa cartel have been engaged in violent clashes since early September. Prior to the shootout, the troops had apprehended a key lieutenant of the 'Mayitos' faction, associated with the imprisoned drug lord Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, known by the nickname 'El Max.'
