After an armed attack on two state legislators, the Defense Ministry (Sedena) has deployed 1,600 soldiers to the troubled state of Sinaloa which has been struggling to cope with a civil war between rival factions of one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels.

A car in which Representatives Sergio Torres Félix and Elizabeth Montoya were riding was attacked by gunmen around noon Wednesday by unknown assailants who fled the scene before authorities arrived.

During her Thursday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum said arrests had been made in connection with the attack. Then on Friday, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said early investigations indicate that a sub-faction of Los Chapitos — part of the Sinaloa Cartel — are likely responsible for the attack.

Sheinbaum also said she intends to go ahead with a working visit to Sinaloa in early February as planned.

The internecine fighting involving the Sinaloa Cartel began in September 2024, the month before Sheinbaum took office. Ending the persistent violence there has been one of the top priorities of her security strategy, but the results have been far from encouraging. 

Among the Sedena personnel on the ground in Sinaloa are 90 members of the Army’s Special Forces Corps. The security forces arrived on Thursday via four heavy Air Force transport aircraft and were deployed to the state capital Culiacán and the coastal city of Mazatlán.

The deployment of additional soldiers comes less than a week after hundreds demonstrated in Culiacán to protest the killing of a civilian during a botched military operation. A 24-year-old man was shot while driving in the state capital, apparently in a case of mistaken identity.

The status of the two Citizens Movement lawmakers remains critical but stable. 

Due to the severity of his condition, Torres has been in intensive care, where he is sedated and intubated. Following lengthy surgical procedures, Torres is said to be doing well although the next 72 hours will be crucial.

Montoya lost an eye in the attack after being injured by shrapnel and projectiles. She underwent facial reconstruction surgery and is said to be recovering well.

After visiting the two lawmakers, Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha said Torres’ vital signs are responding well to the trauma after being shot in the head and in the torso. As for Montoya, Rocha said she was conscious and is able to hold a conversation.

Members of the Army, the National Guard and state police officers are deployed around the private clinic where Montoya is hospitalized, and another contingent is on patrol at a focused-care hospital where Torres was transferred to recover from the head injury.

The security forces are also expected to participate in an ongoing search-and-rescue operation looking for 10 mining engineers kidnapped at a site near Concordia, about 83 kilometers (51 miles) northeast of Mazatlán.

With reports from Infobae, La Jornada, El Financiero and El País