The disappearance of Carlos Emilio Galván Valenzuela, from Durango, on October 5, 2025, reopened an old wound that hasn’t fully healed and widened the perception of safety in Mazatlán’s nightclubs.
The last anyone heard from the young man, just 21 years old, was that he went into the restroom at the Terraza Valentino bar and never returned to the table where he was sitting with some cousins. What drew the most attention was that this bar is owned by Ricardo Velarde Cárdenas, the former state Secretary of Economy.
His case exposed a pattern that is not new in Mazatlán, one that has been ongoing for some time, with at least nine disappearances in nightclubs and party areas between 2024 and 2025, according to documented reports.
This new security crisis is occurring amidst increased security measures, which don’t seem to be producing the desired results to reassure the population.
The current situation brings to mind the violent events that took place in the port city years ago, events that should not be repeated.
Between 2006 and 2012, during the “drug war” waged against the cartels by then-President Felipe Calderón, attacks on bars and nightclubs left at least 21 dead and approximately 45 wounded.
The attacks included armed raids, targeted killings, and assaults in crowded areas, meaning that the port city’s nightlife had already experienced these forms of violence before the forced disappearances.
In February 2010, the attack on Las Herraduras bar, formerly known as El Toro Bravo, on Avenida Del Mar, left six dead and several wounded.
According to reports from the time, from paramedics and former security agents, now retired, the attackers entered the boardwalk business directly looking for a specific person, whom they attacked, but they also took others with them.
A year later, in June 2011, an attack on a bar known as El Camaronero left two dead and one wounded, while in July of that same year, the Cheves Sport and Beer bar was also attacked by armed civilians, resulting in two deaths and 10 injuries.
Source: oem
