The violent fallout from the arrest of alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García continues.
A soldier was killed and two other people were found dead in Culiacán, Sinaloa, on Monday morning, authorities said.
The deaths came after at least 36 people were killed and more than 30 were abducted in Culiacán and nearby municipalities in the seven days to Sunday. Seventeen of those killings occurred on Saturday and Sunday. Three armed men were killed in a shootout with soldiers on Saturday.
Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya told reporters that a soldier was killed Monday morning in a clash with armed men in the La Campiña neighborhood of the state capital.
The state Security Ministry said on social media shortly after 7 a.m. that it had received reports of gunfire in La Campiña.
“It’s an attack on military personnel by armed civilians,” the ministry said.
Soldiers came under fire in the same neighborhood last Monday.
In addition to the death of the soldier this Monday morning, at least two civilians were reportedly injured, and at least one person was arrested.
Separately, two bodies were found in different areas of the municipality of Culiacán, Attorney General Claudia Zulema told reporters.
Rocha said that all areas of the state where violence is occurring are a “priority” for his government, particularly the city of Culiacán.
“We are suppressing the focal points of violence. We’re making large seizures [of weapons],” he said.
Violence has increased in Sinaloa since Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were arrested in the United States on July 25 after flying into an airport near El Paso, Texas, on a private plane.
El Mayo has accused Guzmán López, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader and one of the sons of convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, of kidnapping him in Culiacán and forcing him onto a plane that delivered him into the hands of U.S. law enforcement authorities. He is currently in custody in New York, while Guzmán López is behind bars in Chicago.
The main cause of the recent violence in Culiacán is believed to be Sinaloa Cartel infighting between the “Los Chapos” and “Los Mayos” factions of the powerful criminal organization.
Sinaloa government targeted in cyberattack
“Cowards it would be better that you f*** off and don’t come back. More death is coming in Sinaloa.”
Those were the ominous words that appeared on the website of the Sinaloa Tax Administration Service (SATES) website on Sunday afternoon.
The message was signed “Nuevo Virus,” or New Virus.
Durante algunos minutos, la página web del Sates y del Cobaes fueron hackeadas y colocaron un mensaje en contra del Gobernador Rubén Rocha Moya; el hackeo fue confirmado por el Gobierno de #Sinaloa
👉https://t.co/Y8nEWLssx5 pic.twitter.com/XINZZfVGrD— Noroeste (@noroestemx) September 16, 2024
A similar message specifically directed at Governor Rocha appeared on the website of a state government school, the Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Sinaloa (Cobaes).
“Governor Rocha Moya. Here is not the land of cowards. It would be better that you f*** off and don’t come back. More death is coming in Sinaloa,” the message read.
Both the SATES and Cobaes websites couldn’t be reached when Mexico News Daily attempted to view them on early Monday afternoon.
The social communication department of the Sinaloa government said that the cyberattacks were detected “immediately” on Sunday, security systems were activated and the situation was brought under control in “approximately 10 minutes.”
Rocha, a representative of Mexico’s ruling Morena party, was asked on Monday whether the threats posted online came from a criminal group.
“It could be from anyone,” he said.
“It could be from [political] opponents who are taking advantage of the situation politically,” the governor said.
Rocha said he hadn’t increased his personal security detail in light of the threat, but revealed that he had asked the federal government for additional support to confront the high levels of violence in Sinaloa.
“It would be better that we had a little bit more support — I already requested it from the federal government,” he said, adding that he specifically asked for more planes to assist the fight against crime.
With reports from Debate, Infobae, Línea Directa, Eme Equis, Reforma, Animal Político, El Imparcial and El Financiero
