Some residents of Sinaloa had a happy Christmas thanks — evidently — to the Sinaloa Cartel.

Dozens of trucks turned up last week in several rural towns in the municipalities of Salvador Alvarado and Mocorito and delivered holiday gift baskets.

Wrapped in clear plastic, the baskets came with a card bearing a short message: “Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year from your friend Cholo Iván.”

A similar distribution of gifts took place three months ago in the town of Ranchito, Angostura.

Victims of the Tropical Storm 19E received food supplies, mattresses, stoves and other appliances bearing a logo consisting of a black baseball cap with the initials JGL written in gold.

The donation of the disaster relief supplies has been attributed to the former chief of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, also known as “El Chapo.”

“El Cholo Iván” is Orso Iván Gastélum Cruz, identified as the Sinaloa Cartel’s former chief lieutenant and security boss. He was arrested with Guzmán in January 2016 and has been behind bars since.

But it appears his influence still reaches far on his former turf in Sinaloa.

Source: El Universal (sp)