Several killed in fresh violence in Mexico cartel bastion

CULIACAN, Mexico: Several people were killed Saturday in northwest Mexico, authorities said, after fighting between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel left at least 15 dead in the area this week.

Three civilians were killed during a clash between the army and “armed civilians,” the Sinaloa state public security department said in a statement on Saturday.

The department also reported “two homicides” without specifying whether they were linked to the cartel infighting that has terrorized the civilian population.

Five people died Friday night in the town of Concordia which has seen “violent events” between organized crime gangs, the state’s attorney general said.

Earlier Friday, the state prosecutor’s office had reported 15 deaths since Monday in fighting between cartel factions and said it was also investigating 20 cases of suspected forced disappearances.

“My cousins have been locked up at home. My aunt doesn’t want them to go out because they said the criminals are recruiting people,” said Estefania, 27, from the state capital Culiacan.

Security reinforcements have been sent to Sinaloa — the bastion of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and his sons.

The fighting follows the dramatic arrest on US soil on July 25 of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who claimed he had been kidnapped in Mexico and delivered into US custody against his will.

Zambada, 76, was detained along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of El Chapo, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.

The wave of violence in the Sinaloa state capital Culiacan is believed to pit gang members loyal to El Chapo and his sons against others aligned with Zambada, who pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges in a New York court Friday.

“The rivalry stems from the events of July 25,” Sinaloa state governor Ruben Rocha Moya said on Friday.

Schools were closed Thursday and Friday due to the violence and the governor said Sunday’s Independence Day festivities had been canceled.

The United States on Thursday issued a security alert because of “reports of car thefts, gunfire, security forces operations, roadblocks, burning vehicles and closed roadways” in the vicinity of Culiacan.