War in Sinaloa: 1,827 deaths

The federal government, through the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) , responded with the constant reinforcement of Special Forces, Paratroopers, Infantry, as well as reaction elements of the National Guard and intelligence teams.

As a logistical complement, on August 18, the federal government delivered 100 patrol cars for security tasks in Sinaloa, part of the material support accompanying the deployment of personnel.

As a result of the operations, authorities presume the capture of 1,500 people , and the seizure of 3,000 weapons and more than 53 tons of various drugs.

Even with this cavalry and security measures, the perception of insecurity in the country's cities increased in the second quarter of 2025, and some of the largest increases were recorded in tourist destinations, reported the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

Presenting the results of the National Urban Public Safety Survey (ENSU), he detailed that 63.2 percent of the population aged 18 and over residing in 91 urban areas of interest considered it unsafe to live in their city, compared to 59.4 percent in the same month in 2024.

Culiacán ranked first in terms of the highest perception of insecurity at the end of the second quarter, with 90.8 percent.

The escalating violence caused by the war between "Los Chapitos" and "Los Mayitos" has left an average of five deaths per day in Culiacán and surrounding areas in Sinaloa, as well as shootings in nearby municipalities despite ongoing federal operations.

Thirteen months after Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was kidnapped and handed over to U.S. authorities, there is no official version in Mexico of how the drug lord was taken.

Zambada was arrested in July 2024 by U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas, in an operation that points to a betrayal between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel .

The cartel's co-founder is arrested by members of the DEA as he gets off a plane in which he was accompanied by Joaquín "El Güero" Guzmán López , leader of the "Los Chapitos" faction.

Days after his arrest, "El Mayo's" legal team released a letter in which he claims to have been lured to the United States while on his way to a meeting with Governor Rubén Rocha, politician Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda, and the children of his former partner, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, to resolve disputes within the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (AUS).

According to "El Mayo"'s version, Héctor Cuén was murdered on the San Julián farm , on the outskirts of Culiacán, and that same day he was taken to a private landing strip to be transferred to the United States.

Following his arrest, Ovidio Guzmán López was relocated within the United States prison system, and Joaquín Guzmán López was placed at the disposal of authorities, but without a conviction, raising suspicions about an agreement with that country in exchange for information on fentanyl trafficking by the Sinaloa Cartel.

The alleged betrayal sparked a drug dispute in the state between "Los Chapitos," led by Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, and "Los Mayos," under the command of Ismael "El Mayito Flaco" Zambada, a group that began a smear campaign against Governor Rubén Rocha , whom they nicknamed "The Godfather."

Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and President Claudia Sheinbaum have expressed their support for the president in the face of this campaign and the accusations made by "El Mayo"'s legal team.

The Mexican government has also requested information from the United States regarding the kingpin's arrest, such as the plane's serial number and the pilot's identity, but the United States has not shared it.

On October 29, Prosecutor Alejandro Gertz confirmed that the plane in which Joaquín Guzmán López traveled with "El Mayo" was cloned in the United States.

He also questioned the pilot's location.

In response, the same day, then-U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar stated that his government has provided the information it has regarding the capture of "El Mayo" and the pilot who brought him to the United States.

"There was no police operation in Mexico. It wasn't our plane, our pilot, or our people. The pilot was not a contractor or employee of the United States government, nor a U.S. citizen. I don't know what could be clearer?" he claimed at the time.

During a conference held at the new Embassy headquarters in Colonia Irrigación, Salazar displayed several letters in which high-ranking Mexican officials received information about the arrests of "El Mayo" and Joaquín Guzmán López.

A day later, the Attorney General's Office (FGR) refuted that neither the United States government nor its ambassador to Mexico have responded to requests for information regarding the kidnapping of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

President Claudia Sheinbaum also warned that the questions surrounding the capture of "El Mayo" Zambada are not related to the apprehension of the drug lord, but rather to how it was carried out.

But so far, the transfer of "El Mayo" remains an enigma.

In September 2024, the Attorney General's Office (FGR) requested "evidentiary data" from the Governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha, regarding his whereabouts on July 25, when drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was kidnapped in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

In his weekly press conference, the Morena member said the agency had asked him for information about his physical location and the date Zambada was held against his will for transfer to the United States.

He assured that he would go to the authorities if summoned.

The "Los Mayitos" faction, led by Ismael Zambada Sicairos, alias "El Mayito Flaco," has gained strength in Culiacán, significantly weakening the "Los Chapitos" cell, which represents the sons of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, according to state sources.

They indicated that "Los Mayitos" have not only gained ground in the Sinaloa capital, but have also strengthened their territorial dominance through a more powerful armed presence, evidenced in recent clashes that have resulted in losses for Los Chapitos.

The capture and surrender of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada by one of the Guzmán brothers sparked internal violence.

A "seal" of the Mayitos' victory was the execution, in July, of 20 people, whose bodies were mutilated and decapitated and then hung from a bridge in Culiacán , an act that also symbolizes their intimidating power.

"We are already in Culiacán, we are going to clean up," they spread in pamphlets.

At the same time, in May 2025, in a military operation against "El Perris," Los Chapitos' security chief, he was killed in Navolato. He was a key commander whose death marked a severe blow to his organization.

Following the downing of "El Perris," the leadership of "El Mayito Flaco" was consolidated, according to sources, who confirmed that for now, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán's command is invisible.

The alleged strengthening of "Los Mayitos" is not happening alone, sources noted.

Their alliance with the Guasave Cartel , led by El Chapo Isidro, has provided them with additional strength, especially in the north of the state, further complicating the response capacity of "Los Chapitos."

Separately, federal sources indicated that as of August, no criminal faction has succeeded in establishing dominance or replacing its leadership within the so-called Sinaloa Cartel.

They even stated that there is still respect for "El Mayo" Zambada, who was seen as an all-powerful boss by the organization's various leaders and operators.

In fact, some believed he had the power to order the government to take down Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, leader of "Los Chapitos," at any time.

This is what alleged arms traffickers linked to the Chapitos themselves expressed in telephone conversations that were intercepted by the Attorney General's Office, with the authorization of a federal judge, between December 11, 2021, and June 8, 2022.

"'El Mayo', if he wants, just sends the government and overthrows them all. Do you think Iván doesn't know that 'El Mayo' can overthrow them if he wants? 'El Mayo' has always used 'El Chapo' to clean up the town," says an unidentified individual in one of the intercepted conversations.

The wiretaps are related to the criminal case in which a federal judge in Sonora ordered the arrests of 13 alleged leaders and accomplices of the Sinaloa Cartel, including Iván Archivaldo and Ovidio Guzmán, as well as Julio César Chávez Junior.

In this sense, for now the only leaders of these factions are Iván Archivaldo Guzmán and "El Mayito Flaco"—the latter of whom boasts greater power through his criminal cells—and both are on the United States' extraditable list.

However, last July, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch stated that the criminal groups "Los Chapitos" and "Los Mayos" are weakened after operations that resulted in arrests, seizure of weapons, and drug labs.

From Culiacán, after the first session of the federal Security Cabinet, which will be held every two weeks in the state, García Harfuch said that a sign of the weakening is that the convoys of hitmen that the Sinaloa Cartel groups once boasted about are no longer as visible , especially in the state capital.

However, he emphasized that this does not mean that the problem facing Sinaloa as the bloodiest state, surpassing Guanajuato, has been resolved.

An example of this is the recent murders of two Culiacán Police officers .

"Criminal organizations have definitely been diminished. At the beginning of the conflict, we saw convoys of several trucks in Culiacán. Today, we have no records of that. They are becoming less frequent. If not, there were months with zero roadblocks like at the beginning. This does not mean that the situation is resolved. What we are saying is that they are not the same; these criminal groups do not have the same firepower ," he said at a press conference.

"(The operations) are to reassure citizens. This situation that occurred 10 months ago was extraordinary, caused by criminals, by the same criminals. This situation that began in Sinaloa, caused by two criminal groups that knew each other perfectly. These operations and investigations that the Security Cabinet carries out daily are to reverse what these criminal groups caused," he added.

Ricardo Trevilla, head of Defense , rejected the presence of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in the state, after unofficial reports indicated a possible alliance with 'Los Chapitos'.

"The largest deployment is by the Army and the National Guard. We have around 11,000 troops. We haven't found any evidence of another cartel. In southern Sinaloa, some groups have put up banners seeking to generate that idea. However, regarding the personnel they've detained or the material, weapons, or drugs they've seized, no evidence has been found to support that theory," he responded.