The violence that has engulfed Northern Mexico officially reached a month on Wednesday, with over 180 deaths in the regions of Culiacán, Mazatlán and La Concordia. The conflict has escalated into an all-out turf war between the "Chapitos," who answer to "El Chapo" Guzmán and "La Empresa MF" which answers to El Mayito Flaco, the son of recently-captured Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.
The dispute inside the Sinaloa Cartel reportedly stems from an alleged betrayal of "El Mayo" Zambada which led to Zambada's suspected handover to U.S. authorities on July 25, 2024, by Joaquín Guzmán López.
Besides the on-going death toll in the region, one of the consequences of the conflict will inevitably be the extinction of the Sinaloa Cartel as we know it. At least that's what journalist and cartel expert Jesús Lemus told Infobae.
Lemus, who has authored several books on the topic, suggests that this conflict will lead to the dissolution of the Sinaloa Cartel as a unified entity, noting that while its criminal activities will continue, the cartel's branding is expected to disappear, giving way to splinter groups such as "Los Chapitos," "La Chapiza," "Los Sombreros," and "La Empresa MF."
Lemus argues that the once-cohesive Sinaloa Cartel, which encompassed various factions such as "Los Caborca," "Chapo Isidro," "Los Chapitos," "Los Mayitos," "Los Salazar," and "Los Cabrera Sarabia," has fragmented, signaling the end of the cartel as it was once known.
Over the past month, the conflict has been marked by intense security operations, gun battles, and massacres in various parts of Sinaloa, particularly in Culiacán and Mazatlán. Both sides have circulated messages accusing political figures of complicity, while claiming territorial gains and exposing alleged betrayals within their ranks.
Notably, pamphlets have implicated Governor Rocha Moya with Los Chapitos, a claim which had previously been made by convicted Mexican security chief Genaro García Luna in a letter from jail.
Amid the violence, newly-elected president Claudia Sheinbaum announced she will launch a new task force called "Fuerza de Tarea," which along with local officials will seek to bring order to Sinaloa's streets and face the cartels responsible of ongoing violence.
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