The mountain communities of Badiraguato, Sinaloa, have lost dozens of families in recent weeks, fleeing their homes due to the escalation of violence linked to the Sinaloa Cartel’s internal dispute.
Shootings, the use of drone-launched explosive devices, and power outages, reported by residents of communities such as Huixiopa, La Tuna, Bacacoragua, La Lapara, El Chorro, La Palma, Potrero de la Vainilla, San José del Barranco, and Sabanillas, have transformed the region into a scene of daily war.
“All night long, there were bursts of explosives, and a drone could be heard dropping explosives,” described a woman from Bacacoragua in an interview with Revista Espejo. The streets of these towns remain under the control of armed groups who patrol, monitor, and block access, making civilian life impossible and encouraging the exodus.
The municipality of Badiraguato is located in the so-called Golden Triangle, a mountainous territory key to the history of Mexican drug trafficking and the birthplace of figures such as Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, Rafael Caro Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo “Don Neto,” Pedro Avilés Pérez, and the Beltrán Leyva brothers Arturo, Héctor, and Alfredo, who were part of the country’s most powerful criminal organizations.
After the capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in 2024, the fight for criminal control in the region intensified, to the point of emptying entire towns such as El Chorro, La Palma, and Potrero de la Vainilla. According to El Sol de Sinaloa, municipal and state authorities have identified at least 100 displaced families, representing nearly 450 people. Organizations estimate the number exceeds 700.
