The number of people missing in the violence-torn Mexican state of Sinaloa has doubled after two rival factions of a drug cartel began a bloody battle for control of their criminal organization.
According to official figures, more than 200 people have disappeared since the two factions of the Sinaloa cartel declared war on each other nearly three months ago.
The feud erupted after the arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in the US.
His followers, known as “Los Mayos” or “La Maija”, say he was betrayed by the son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, the infamous founder of the Sinaloa cartel, and call members of his faction “Los Chapitos”.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has sent her security chief, Omar García Horfuch, to Sinaloa state to quell the violence.
An increase in murders and disappearances in Sinaloa overshadowed Sheinbaum’s first months in office.
She was sworn in as Mexico’s first female head of state on Oct. 1 after a campaign vowing to maintain the approach her predecessor took in office that avoided direct confrontation with cartels.
“There will be no return to an irresponsible drug war,” he said in his inaugural address, ruling out a more militaristic approach.
But facing mounting criticism in his own country and pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump, who wants Mexico to do more to curb the smuggling of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the US, Sheinbaum appeared to tackle the violence in Sinaloa on Wednesday. priority.
At a news conference, he said his administration would take a “zero tolerance” approach.
He praised security forces for making Mexico’s biggest fentanyl bust to date.
“This has been an ongoing investigation for a long time and yesterday, it produced these results. This is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills ever made,” he said.
Earlier, Mexico’s top security official Omar Garcia Horfuch announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the fentanyl pills seized at two properties in Sinaloa were worth $394m (£309m) and weighed more than a tonne.
“These measures will continue until the violence in Sinaloa state subsides.” he said in the post (in Spanish).
News of the massive fentanyl bust comes a week after Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada on his first day in office.
He said the tariffs would remain in place until “drugs, specifically fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country.”
Mexican authorities announced on Wednesday that they had arrested more than 5,200 migrants across the country earlier in the day in response to President Sheinbaum’s promise to Trump to stop a migrant caravan moving north through Mexico from reaching the US border.
