Mexican officials have been lauding law enforcement's efforts to address cartel-related violence in Sinaloa, as authorities continue sending reinforcements and conducting high-profile arrests in the state.
However, the efforts have also come with a toll, as authorities have also reported that at least 13 police officers have been killed over the past three months, when the turf wars dominating Sinaloa formally began.
Public Safety Secretary Gerardo Mérida Sánchez told press that there is also an officers who has been forcibly kidnapped and that his whereabouts are currently unknown.
Authorities, however, believe that efforts to quell violence are working, with American counterparts agreeing as well. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar celebrated this week what he described as the local armed forces' progress against cartels, particularly the Sinaloa one, saying the criminal organization is "against the ropes."
"We've done much to create a new relationship. That's why the cartels, among them the Sinaloa one, are being dismantled. The Mexican government is to be credited for that," said Salazar. He added that the U.S. has provided support "but always respecting Mexico's sovereignty."
The statements are part of a broader message being pushed by the Claudia Sheinbaum about a crackdown on organized crime, particularly in the northern region of the country. The Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection, Omar García Harfuch, said last week that violence in Sinaloa has been "contained."
To back his claims, he highlighted that municipality of Culiacán are now receiving more theft reports than other crimes." However, he also said that "the situation has been contained because the most intense confrontations have not occurred within Culiacán."
He was making reference to the turf war currently being fought by two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, "Los Chapitos" and "La Mayiza," which began after cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was captured and taken to the U.S. in July, a development he blamed on one of the sons of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, a now former ally.
Official figures, however, are still showing the high toll of the turf wars. Sinaloa ended November with nearly 175 homicides and after citizens in the municipality of Culiacan reported an explosion followed by a shooting in the area.
Over 500 homicides have been reported in the state since then. According to Milenio the average homicide rate in Sinaloa before the turf war broke was around 30 to 40 homicides a month. In September the state reported 144 homicides, followed by 188 in October, and 175 in November.
Originally published on Latin Times.
