Infighting in the Sinaloa Cartel

On 9 September 2024, a conflict erupted between the primary factions of the Sinaloa Cartel—Los Chapitos and La Mayiza—and their respective armed groups in Culiacán, Sinaloa, and later spread to other municipalities in the state. The conflict stemmed from the capture of two key cartel leaders, Joaquín Guzmán López and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.
Operation Black Swan was a military operation that led to the recapture of the Sinaloa Cartel leader, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, on 8 January 2016. This event led to the division of the cartel into various factions vying for control.
The two main factions that emerged were Los Chapitos, led by Ovidio Guzmán López ("El Ratón"), Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar ("El Chapito"), Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar ("Alfredito"), and Joaquín Guzmán López ("El Güero Moreno"), and La Mayiza, led by Ismael Zambada García ("El Mayo").
On 17 October 2019, Ovidio Guzmán López ("El Ratón") was apprehended by elements of the Mexican Armed Forces. This operation triggered a severe wave of violence in Culiacán, known as the "Culiacanazo". To prevent further bloodshed, the government made the controversial decision to release Guzmán López.
On 5 January 2023, a major operation known as Operation Moongose Azteca was carried out in Culiacán to recapture Ovidio Guzmán López. This operation had been planned since late 2021 in collaboration with the Secretariat of National Defense, the National Guard, the National Intelligence Center, and the Sinaloa Public Security Secretariat.
Following a brief confrontation with Guzmán López's bodyguards, he was successfully recaptured and transported to Mexico City. During this process, gunmen from the Los Chapitos faction of the cartel besieged Culiacán and several other municipalities in Sinaloa, once again pressuring the government to release their leader. Amid the unrest, Los Chapitos sought assistance from La Mayiza, but the latter refused, causing a rift between the two factions.
On 25 July 2024, the United States Department of Justice officially announced the arrest of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López in El Paso, Texas. The Mexican government stated that it had not participated in Zambada's capture.
On 9 August, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar revealed that Zambada had been forcibly taken to the U.S. against his will, while Guzmán López had surrendered voluntarily, fueling speculation that some form of "betrayal" was involved.
On 10 August, Zambada claimed in a letter made public by his attorney, Frank Pérez, that he had been ambushed and kidnapped by Guzmán López, who handed him over to U.S. authorities. According to the letter, Zambada had been invited to a meeting to negotiate and resolve disputes between Sinaloa's political leaders, Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda, leader of the Sinaloense Party. Upon arrival, he alleged he was attacked, bound, handcuffed, and taken in a vehicle to an airstrip, where he was forced onto a plane in order to be arrested by U.S. authorities.
At dawn on 9 September 2024, a Mexican Army convoy encountered armed civilians in La Campiña, a neighborhood on the east side of Culiacán and a stronghold of the Los Chapitos faction. A shootout broke out, resulting in the death of a sergeant. Violence escalated rapidly throughout the day, with additional clashes reported in nearby neighborhoods, southern Culiacán—a stronghold of the La Mayiza faction—and the neighboring municipalities of Badiraguato, Navolato, and Elota. By midday, a group of gunmen briefly boarded a public bus, issuing warnings to passengers and the driver about further violence. During the day's confrontations, authorities seized several armored civilian vehicles, firearms, and tactical equipment.
Shortly after hostilities erupted, the Secretariat of Public Education and Culture, along with the Autonomous University of Sinaloa and the National Technological Institute of Mexico, suspended classes in affected areas. Public transportation services were widely disrupted, with numerous bus routes canceled. Many citizens sheltered in place for safety. Festivities for the Cry of Dolores were canceled.
The Mexican government, led by outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, dispatched additional army troops and National Guard units, asserting that their primary mission was to ensure the safety and well-being of the local population amidst the conflict. López Obrador, however, downplayed reports of escalating violence, claiming that coverage was exaggerated by conservative media outlets.
On 16 September, General Jesús Leana Ojeda, commander of the Third Military Region, asserted that state security did not depend solely on the army but on the rival groups' willingness to stop their confrontations. Three days later, López Obrador called on criminal groups to act responsibly and cease hostilities. He attributed the instability to the agreement between the United States and Joaquín Guzmán López that resulted in the arrest of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, suggesting it provoked the outbreak of violence.
The violence had spread across Sinaloa by mid-September, with narco-blockades frequently appearing along Mexican Federal Highway 15 and numerous deaths reported in remote towns. Some victims were found with sombreros or pizza slices—symbols linked to La Mayiza and Los Chapitos, respectively. The town of El Palmito in Concordia Municipality was temporarily evacuated, leaving it a ghost town.
On 30 September, local police in Culiacán were removed from active duty after the Mexican Army seized their firearms to inspect permits and verify serial numbers. By that same day, the death toll had climbed to 118.
President Claudia Sheinbaum deployed a task force composed of Mexican Army soldiers, National Guard members, and agents from the National Intelligence Center to combat the escalating violence. On 2 October, she replaced Jesús Leana Ojeda with Guillermo Briseño Lobera as commander of the Third Military Region.
The Associated Press reported that gunmen used cellphone chats to identify potential targets. Armed men would stop individuals and search their contact lists, chat logs, or photos; if they found any connection to a rival faction, the person was either executed or kidnapped.
On 17 October, in Culiacán, gunfire erupted outside the headquarters of the newspaper El Debate when an individual exited a vehicle and opened fire with a long gun. Two days later, a deliveryman on a motorcycle carrying printed editions of the newspaper was ambushed and kidnapped by armed assailants.
On 21 October, Mexican forces engaged in one of the deadliest confrontations of the decade, resulting in the deaths of 19 cartel members and the capture of "El Max", a high-ranking member of La Mayiza. The following day, a narco-banner from Los Chapitos appeared in Culiacán, aimed at Ismael Zambada Sicairos, leader of the La Mayiza faction. The banner threatened to turn Zambada over to U.S. authorities and mocked him over the military operation leading to "El Max's" capture, claiming government support was on their side. In response, La Mayiza circulated pamphlets across Culiacán, setting up a hotline for citizens to report corruption involving Governor of Sinaloa Rubén Rocha Moya. On 26 October, a cooler decorated with bows and pizza drawings was found containing a severed head, allegedly of a Los Chapitos member, along with a message directed at the group.
On 28 October, a small plane, reportedly linked to the Los Chapitos faction, dropped four bombs on Vascogil, Durango, a stronghold of the Cabrera Sarabia Organization, allies of La Mayiza.