The number of people missing in the violence-plagued Mexican state of Sinaloa has doubled since two rival factions of a drug cartel began a bloody battle for control of their criminal organization.
More than 200 people have gone missing since two factions of the Sinaloa cartel declared war on each other nearly three months ago, according to official figures.
Controversy erupted after the arrest of Ismail “El Mayo” Zambada in the United States.
His followers, known as “Los Muses” or “La Maiza,” say he was betrayed by the son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, the notorious founder of the Sinaloa cartel, and that he led his own faction. changed the members of the, called “Los Chipitos”.
Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum has dispatched her chief of security, Omar García Horfich, to Sinaloa state to control the violence.
A spate of murders and disappearances in Sinaloa has overshadowed Scheinbaum’s first months in office.
She was sworn in as Mexico’s first female head of state on Oct. 1 after a campaign in which she pledged to uphold the policies adopted by her predecessor, who dealt with the cartels. Avoid direct confrontation.
“There will be no going back to an irresponsible drug war,” he said in his inaugural speech, rejecting a more militant approach.
But facing growing criticism at home and pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who wants to do more to stop the smuggling of the synthetic opioid fentanyl from Mexico into the U.S., Sheinbaum on Wednesday in Sinaloa. Seen to play their role in dealing with violence. Priority
At a news conference, he said his administration would adopt a “zero tolerance” approach.
He praised the security forces for erecting Mexico’s largest fentanyl statue to date.
“This has been a long-running investigation and yesterday it yielded these results. This is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills ever,” he said.
Earlier, Mexico’s top security official, Omar García Horfach, announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that fentanyl pills seized from two properties in Sinaloa were worth $394m (£309m) and They weighed more than a ton.
“These actions will continue until the violence in Sinaloa state subsides”. He said in the post [in Spanish].
News of the massive fentanyl bust comes just a week after Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada on his first day in office.
The tariffs will remain in place until “drugs, especially fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country,” he said.
Mexican authorities also announced on Wednesday that they had detained more than 5,200 migrants across the country in the past day, including those heading north through Mexico from President Sheinbaum’s Trump administration. A promise to stop the convoy from reaching the US border shows a reaction.