Nothing was ever the same in Sinaloa after July 25, 2024. The narco peace that had prevailed between the two most powerful criminal families in the state shattered after Joaquín Guzmán López kidnapped and handed over Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada to U.S. authorities.
Since then, the fierce dispute between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos for control of the criminal organization has not only plunged the Sinaloa capital and surrounding municipalities into a spiral of violence, but has also forced other criminal groups with a presence in the state to take sides.
In May 2025, sources from the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) indicated that the Guasave Cartel, headed by one of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel heirs, identified as Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, had joined forces with the Sinaloa Cartel faction led by Ismael Zambada Sicairos.
El Chapo Isidro—as he is also known—did not join the ranks of Los Mayos alone. Along with him came other leaders who inherited operational networks from the organization once headed by Arturo Beltrán Leyva, such as Óscar Manuel Gastélum Iribe—El Músico—and Pedro Inzunza Noriega—El Sagitario—but also some individuals who, although once important allies of the Guzmán family, ultimately pledged their loyalty to El Mayito Flaco.
Two months after the drug war between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos spread to areas under the influence of the Guasave Cartel, banners allegedly signed by the Guzmán family were displayed in various locations in Culiacán, threatening a group of individuals they referred to as “the turncoats.”
“Traitorous scum have no place anywhere,” the message declared. According to reports by Xavier Jiménez for MILENIO, the banners were directed at Saúl Páez López—one of the cousins of Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán López—members of the Avendaño Special Forces, and two other members of a cell that has played a prominent role in the conflict between the two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel: Ceferino Espinosa Angulo, alias El Koy or El Koyote; and Fredy Angulo Soto, better known as El Yuko.
Information released by the Department of Justice in February 2025 identified El Koyote as a key ally of Los Chapitos, given that at the age of 43 he had managed to employ dozens of hitmen to protect and support his faction. His close ties to El Chapo’s sons and his involvement in criminal activities led to Ceferino Espinoza Angulo being indicted in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois on charges related to drug trafficking and firearms possession.
