Missing Persons Double in Sinaloa Amid Cartel Factional Conflict

The number of individuals reported missing in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, a region afflicted by violence, has increased twofold since two opposing factions of a drug cartel initiated a brutal struggle for dominance within their criminal enterprise. Official statistics indicate that over 200 people have vanished in the nearly three months since these two segments of the Sinaloa cartel commenced hostilities against each other. This internal conflict began following the apprehension of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in the United States. His adherents, identified as “Los Mayos” or “La Mayiza,” assert that he was betrayed by the son of the notorious founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and have subsequently targeted members of Guzmán’s son’s faction, known as “Los Chapitos.” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has dispatched Omar García Harfuch, her security chief, to Sinaloa state with the aim of suppressing the escalating violence. The surge in homicides and disappearances in Sinaloa has overshadowed the initial months of Sheinbaum’s presidency. She assumed office as Mexico’s first female head of state on October 1, after a campaign where she pledged to maintain the strategy of her predecessor, who opted to avoid direct confrontations with cartels. “There will be no return to the irresponsible drug war,” she stated in her inaugural address, thereby rejecting a more militaristic approach. However, in response to mounting criticism domestically and pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump, who seeks greater Mexican efforts to curb the trafficking of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the US, Sheinbaum on Wednesday appeared to prioritize addressing the violence in Sinaloa. During a press conference, she declared that her administration would adopt a “zero tolerance” policy. She also commended the security forces for achieving Mexico’s largest fentanyl seizure to date. “This is an investigation that has been going on for a long time and yesterday, it gave these results. It is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills ever made,” she affirmed. Earlier, Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s highest-ranking security official, had announced on X, previously known as Twitter, that the fentanyl pills confiscated from two properties in Sinaloa were valued at $394 million (£309 million) and exceeded one tonne in weight. “These actions will continue until the violence diminishes in the state of Sinaloa,” he conveyed in his post [in Spanish]. News of this substantial fentanyl seizure emerged just over a week after Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada on the first day of his presidency. He stated that these tariffs would remain in effect “until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country.” Mexican authorities also reported on Wednesday that they had detained over 5,200 migrants nationwide the previous day. This action appeared to be a fulfillment of President Sheinbaum’s commitment to Trump to prevent a migrant caravan moving northward through Mexico from reaching the US border.