The federal government has deployed 600 additional soldiers to the battle-scarred state of Sinaloa where hostility within the Sinaloa Cartel has sparked a small war.
The newspaper El Sol de Sinaloa reported on Sunday that around 70 people have been killed since a dispute between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel turned violent on Sept. 9.
Shootouts and commando attacks have occurred primarily in Culiacán, the state capital, and surrounding towns.
The news magazine Proceso reported that four people were murdered overnight on Friday. Proceso also reported that a firefight between suspected cartel gunmen and the military on Saturday claimed three more lives. Meanwhile, El Sol de Sinaloa reported the discovery of five additional bodies outside an aquatic park in southern Culiacán later on Saturday.
That same afternoon, Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha announced the arrival of two battalions of soldiers.
In a social media post, Rocha said “a total of 600 members of the army have arrived in the state capital to join the active security operation … reinforcing the coordinated strategy between the three levels of government to combat insecurity in the state.”
Durante el operativo militar registrado este sábado en el sector Tres Ríos de #Culiacán, una granada fue detonada en un departamento
👉 https://t.co/B6p418nb3e pic.twitter.com/ook3oNIVqb— Noroeste (@noroestemx) September 22, 2024
A military operation in the Tres Ríos neighborhood of Culiacán on Saturday claimed three lives.
Four hours later, the governor was back on social media to inform the public of a security operation precipitated by an attack on local police officers just north of downtown Culiacán:
“An operation was immediately implemented in coordination with security forces [who] managed to evacuate six adults and a minor from the building where the attackers had taken refuge, while they subdued three of the civilian attackers and arrested another.”
The governor declared the situation under control, but urged the public to avoid the neighborhood of Desarrollo Urbano Tres Rios while authorities conducted an investigation.
On Sunday, the Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office acknowledged reports of three murders and three disappearances, according to the news site Aristegui Noticias.
State struggles to keep students in school
When the violence began back on Sept. 9, the 1,846 elementary schools in the cities of Culiacán, Concordia, Elota and Cosalá opted to suspend classes.
A week or so later, the state Education Ministry insisted that the schools reopen their doors, according to El Sol de Sinaloa. On Sept. 17, after touring high schools in Culiacán, Education Minister Catalina Esparza Navarrete lamented the low attendance.
“The schools seem deserted,” she said.
Esparza said the state would offer training to 1,500 teachers, instructing them how to react when violence threatens their schools. The National Guard has also been deployed to protect more than 1,600 schools in the municipalities of Culiacán, Cósala, Elota and San Ignacio.
One school principal told El Sol de Sinaloa that the 370 Guardsmen and 125 vehicles would not be enough to guarantee student safety at their school.
El Sol de Sinaloa cited three cases, including two shootouts, that occurred in the vicinity of schools between Sept. 9-13. The third incident was the placement of a human head on the grounds of an elementary school.
With reports from Proceso, Aristegui Noticias and El Sol de Sinaloa
