MEXICO: Sinaloa on high alert
Thank you for reading LatinNews' chosen article from the Latin American Weekly Report - 22 August 2024
Mexico’s state of Sinaloa remains on high alert following the arrests of two top leaders of the Sinaloa drug trafficking organisation (DTO) in the US on 25 July. On 19 August the local press reported that 600 members of the armed forces had been deployed to the state to reinforce security following a spate of murders believed to be linked to the fallout from the arrests. This comes as the arrests have also sparked revelations of potential links between DTO members and state officials, piling additional pressure on the government.
The reported deployment follows the murders of at least 10 people in the state that appeared to be linked to infighting within the Sinaloa DTO. This will confirm fears of a surge in violence following the arrest of the DTO’s co-founder Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García, which was apparently facilitated by his betrayal by the leader of a rival faction of the DTO, Joaquín Guzmán López, who was arrested alongside him [WR-24-30].
On 19 August Sinaloa state governor Rubén Rocha Moya, who hails from the federally ruling left-wing Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena), stated that four murders on 16 August and six the following day were “linked to the situation that arose” following the arrests. He urged warring groups to keep the peace in the state, echoing similar pleas from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador who, in a press conference on the same day, called on groups to maintain the peace, stating that “we don’t want the situation in Sinaloa to get worse”.
Among those killed were brothers Martín and Leobardo García Corrales, whose tortured bodies were found in a municipality on the outskirts of the state capital Culiacán on 17 August. In April 2023 the US Department of State offered up to US$4m each for information leading to the capture of the brothers, whom it stated were involved in the Sinaloa DTO’s fentanyl trafficking operations and were “close associates” of Zambada.
This spike in violence comes as the Sinaloa state attorney general, Sara Bruna Qui?ónez, announced her resignation on 16 August. She departed due to controversy surrounding the investigation into the murder of Héctor Cuén Ojeda, a Sinaloa politician who was killed on the same day as the arrests.
Qui?ónez’s office claimed the killing was an unrelated carjacking and released video footage to support this theory. However, the federal attorney general’s office (FGR) later questioned this version of events and pointed to irregularities in the FGE’s investigation.
Scrutiny on the Cuén case is high after Zambada released a letter from his jail cell in the US on 10 August in which he gives a different version of the murder [WR-24-32]. In the letter Zambada states that, on the day of his arrest, he had been called to a meeting to “help resolve differences” between Cuén and Rocha, who were political rivals. Zambada says that Cuén was killed at this meeting, which is where he says his own abduction took place.
The letter has pointed to the murky links that may exist between the Sinaloa DTO and local politicians. It has also revealed Zambada’s willingness to expose such links. While Rocha continues to vehemently deny any collusion between his government and organised criminal groups, Mexican authorities may well be treading on eggshells to avoid the ire of the Sinaloa DTO co-founder and the release of more damning information.
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Indeed, in an interview with the Associated Press on 20 August, Mexican security analyst David Saucedo suggested that Zambada is using the threat of releasing such information to ensure federal authorities do not intervene in the transition of power in his faction of the Sinaloa DTO. Both the security and political situation in Sinaloa will have to be handled very carefully in the coming weeks to avoid further fallout.
Sheinbaum creates women’s ministry
On 19 August Mexico’s President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum announced the creation of a women’s ministry when she takes office on 1 October. The ministry will be headed up by senator and secretary general of the ruling left-wing Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena), Citlalli Hernández.
The new ministry will replace the national institute for women (Inmujeres), which was created in 2001 during the presidency of Vicente Fox (2000-2006). The elevation of the institute to a ministry indicates that women’s rights will take a higher priority in the incoming government. According to Sheinbaum, a ministry will allow the government to ensure women’s rights are improved “in all corners of the country”, in comparison to the more regulatory function of Inmujeres.
The announcement has been welcomed by women’s rights activists and organisations including the United Nations (UN) in Mexico. It is the first concrete example of how Sheinbaum – Mexico’s first female president – may approach the issue of women’s rights and gender equality in her government. This is one of the main ways in which it is expected that her government will differ from that of her predecessor and mentor, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has had a combative relationship with Mexico’s feminist movement.
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