Following the abduction and transfer of drug trafficker Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada to the United States, Sinaloa faced an “extraordinary situation of violence stemming from a dispute between criminal factions of the same group,” stated Omar García Harfuch, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection. He asserted that, as a result of this internal conflict within the Sinaloa Cartel, the state saw an unprecedented surge in intentional homicides, reaching 232 percent.
Upon President Claudia Sheinbaum taking office, the “Sinaloa Plan” was implemented to contain violence in the state and protect the population; this involves a deployment of 16,400 personnel from the Army, Navy, National Guard, the SSPC, and the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), García Harfuch said during the presidential press conference.
He added that, as a result of this federal deployment, 5,900 firearms and one million rounds of ammunition have been seized. “This volume of weaponry represents approximately 20 percent of the arms seized nationwide during the current administration, illustrating the firepower possessed by these criminal groups.”
García Harfuch affirmed that efforts to combat all the warring criminal groups have continued, relying on intelligence and investigative work to identify and arrest the individuals driving the violence.
He detailed that, dating back to the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, federal forces have arrested 738 criminals. Notable among them is Ovidio Guzmán, son of “El Chapo” Guzmán (whose capture resulted in the deaths of 10 soldiers); additionally, the Navy captured Rafael Caro Quintero, and Néstor Isidro Pérez—alias “El Nini”—was also arrested.
Furthermore, as a result of the operational deployment in Sinaloa during the current administration, 2,540 people have been arrested for high-impact crimes.
