Almost a year after the arrest of Ismael el Mayo Zambada, which unleashed a wave of violence in Sinaloa, vehicle theft in the state has skyrocketed 170% in the last year.
According to figures from the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS), from June 2024 to June 2025, 3,757 insured vehicles were stolen in Sinaloa, making it the fifth state in the country with the highest number of thefts.
This comes after 1,387 vehicles were stolen in the same state from June 2023 to June 2024.
84% of the thefts committed last year were violent, making Sinaloa the state with the highest percentage of violent vehicle thefts in the country.
“What we have seen is that there has been an increase in vehicle theft (in Sinaloa), particularly when the stolen vehicle is used to commit another crime or, sometimes, to block roads,” said AMIS Director General Norma Alicia Rosas.
AMIS also reported that Culiacán, Sinaloa, is now the municipality with the highest number of thefts in the country, with 2,762 stolen vehicles in the last year, surpassing Guadalajara, Jalisco (2,539 thefts) and Ecatepec, State of Mexico (1,854 thefts).
The arrest of both kingpins sparked the outbreak of a war within the Sinaloa cartel last September between the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, known as Los Chapitos, and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s faction, known as La Mayiza.
Crime on the Downside
AMIS highlighted that a total of 60,600 insured vehicles were stolen nationwide during the last 12 months of the year, a 2% decrease compared to the same period last year, with a recovery rate of 42%.
Furthermore, in June 2025, 145 vehicles were stolen per day, while in the same month of 2024, 169 units were stolen, a 14% drop over the last year.
“We could say the news is good, as we can see that the number of stolen vehicles has been contained,” emphasized Norma Alicia Rosas. “We have figures very similar to those seen during the (COVID-19) pandemic.”
According to AMIS, the five states in the country with the highest number of insured auto thefts between June 2024 and June 2025 were: State of Mexico, with 15,209 units; Jalisco, with 7,139; Mexico City, with 5,550; Puebla with 4,367 units; and Sinaloa, with 3,757.
Source: eleconomista
