Grecia Guadalupe Gallardo Ulloa was 14 years old; she had been stung by a scorpion and was in a rush to get to the hospital. Her uncle, Arturo Ramiro Quintero Ortega, sped up his motorcycle amidst the blackout blanketing Escuinapa during the early hours of Monday, June 8. Finding the antivenom was urgent. But before they could reach the IMSS-Bienestar clinic, armed men opened fire on them in front of a gas station. Grecia and Ramiro were killed in a hail of bullets. Yessica Siboney, Ramiro’s wife, survived with injuries, pleading not to be left to die because she had a small baby at home.
Since the conflict between the “Los Chapitos” and “La Mayiza” factions began on September 9, 2024, Sinaloa has recorded 3,352 intentional homicides—an average of 6.7 murders per day. Escuinapa, in the southern part of the state, became one of the most volatile hotspots in this criminal war.
On Sunday, June 7 alone, authorities seized around 550 homemade explosives, including bombs designed to be dropped from drones. Hours later, the attack on Grecia and her uncle and aunt took place.
In the early hours of Monday, Escuinapa was plunged into near-total darkness. Residents had reported explosions at various points across the municipality since the previous night, and a drone attack had knocked out power in several areas of the municipal seat, Mayor Víctor Manuel Díaz Simental told *Revista Espejo*.
It was amidst this blackout that the motorcycle headed toward the hospital. The street appeared empty. The only visible lights came from the headlights of several vehicles—positioned there beforehand—parked near a gas station at the municipality’s southern exit. When the motorcycle entered the area, the gunmen opened fire.
