In the 35 days of cartel violence that has befallen Sinaloa, state officials announced that they have detained a total of 46 suspects and retrieved more than 300 firearms. 

There has been public uproar over the weeks of sustained violence in the region, sparked by a feud between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, whose stronghold and home base is the northwestern Mexican state. 

In the same period, police also confiscated 1,709 gun magazines, 95,859 unused cartridges, 55 grenades and 153 vehicles, 35 of which had improvised bulletproof armor, authorities said.

Officials are calling on locals to anonymously report suspicious and criminal activities to help support their investigations. 

According to the newspaper El País, more than 125 people have been reported dead since the cartel infighting started to escalate in late August. On Sept. 29, 300 people joined protests in Sinaloa’s capital of Culiacán to draw attention to the violence, carrying placards and calling out chants for peace. 

Cartel members clone police vehicles 

Sinaloa’s Public Security Minister Gerardo Mérida Sánchez said that during a recent police operation, authorities seized several “cloned” replicas of police and emergency vehicles, including eight police motorbikes, two police cars and an ambulance. 

At a press conference on Monday, Governor Rubén Rocha Moya said that following a spate of robberies, authorities planned an operation to prevent future instances of crime affecting local businesses. 

The National Guard has been tasked with patrolling streets and central areas to identify high-risk areas for crime and carry out preventative measures.  

“We aim to act not reactively, but rather prevent crime at its source. With the presence of the [National] Guard, the operation we are designing is focused on deterring and preventing crime,” Rocha said. 

Cartel leader ‘El 18’ arrested in Coahuila

On Oct. 12, alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader Óscar Melchor, known by the alias “El 18,” was apprehended in Saltillo, the capital of the northeastern state of Coahuila. El 18 faces multiple criminal charges related to his role within the notorious drug trafficking organization.

Law enforcement agents from Quintana Roo, Sinaloa and Coahuila collaborated in his arrest after which he was transported via plane to Quintana Roo, where he will face trial for crimes committed in that state.

Melchor had previously been detained, alongside four others, in 2021 for possession of cannabis and his role in a homicide that took place in Alfredo V. Bonfil, a suburb of Cancún. According to the news agency Infobae, the reasons for his release following his previous arrest are unknown.  

With reports from El Universal, El País, El Economista, Informador and Infobae