Local police in Culiacan, a city dominated by cartels, have been pulled off the streets after the army confiscated their weapons, officials announced Monday.
This decision came just a day after around 1,500 residents of Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, marched through downtown demanding peace following weeks of cartel gunfights that have claimed dozens of lives in and around the city.
Instead of increasing police presence, Governor Ruben Rocha stated Monday that the entire 1,000-member municipal police force would remain off duty until their weapons are returned. In the meantime, soldiers, state police, and the National Guard will handle patrolling duties.
Rocha explained that the weapon seizure for permit and serial number inspection was not a routine check but an “exceptional” measure, expressing hope for a swift resolution.
Historically, the Mexican army has seized weapons from local police forces they distrust, either due to suspicions of collusion with drug gangs or the possession of unregistered, private firearms that could obscure abuses.
In 2018, a similar inspection led to the army seizing weapons from municipal police in Cuernavaca. The measure aimed to ensure “trustworthy security forces.”
Hundreds of army troops have been deployed to Culiacan since fighting erupted between factions of the Sinaloa cartel after drug lords Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were apprehended in the United States on July 25. Zambada later claimed he was kidnapped and forced onto the plane by Guzmán López, sparking violent clashes between Zambada’s faction and the “Chapitos” group led by the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Sunday’s protest was the first such march since the factional fighting began. Gunbattles have erupted even in downtown and upscale neighborhoods of Culiacan, causing parents to hesitate to send their children to school since early September.
Schools in Culiacan have largely shifted to online classes to avoid the near-daily shootings. On Monday, gunmen killed the leader of the local cattle rancher’s union, Faustino Hernández, in broad daylight on a downtown street.
The civic group “Culiacan Valiente” (Brave Culiacan) organized residents to dress in white and carry banners reading “Take back our streets!”
“We want a return to in-class learning, but only if the safety of the schoolchildren is guaranteed,” the march organizers stated.
Rocha acknowledged the conflict between two cartel factions — the “Chapitos” and the “Mayitos” — and pledged to combat both equally.
“There are two groups confronting each other here,” Rocha said. “The authorities are here to face them down equally, without exceptions.”
The two groups have left distinctive markers on their rivals’ bodies: the “Chapitos” leave pizzas (derived from their moniker “La ChaPIZA”), while Zambada’s supporters leave cowboy hats, symbolizing their old-school approach compared to the younger Guzmáns.
The situation has escalated to the point where cartel gunmen hijack buses and trucks, burning them to block highways in and out of Culiacan.
Rocha himself was caught in traffic for hours on Friday due to a cartel blockade after meeting with outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mazatlan. He had to drive past the burning remains of a torched vehicle.
On Monday, the governor promised to set up five “anti-blockade” squads with state police and soldiers on highways near Culiacan. But in acknowledgement that the squads wouldn’t be able to stop the hijackings, he said they would at least be equipped with tanker trucks to puts out the flames and tow away the wreckage.
Even the local army commander, Gen. Francisco Leana Ojeda, acknowledged recently that “We want this to be over as soon as possible, but it doesn’t depend on us, it’s up to the warring groups to stop confronting each other.”
Source: AP
