(Bloomberg) -- Mexico Independence Day celebrations this weekend are being canceled in the northwestern city of Culiacan amid clashes between rival groups that have erupted in the wake of the capture of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
After three days of skirmishes between gangs, Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha canceled school on Friday and called off celebrations including a concert in Culiacan and three other surrounding towns.
“We’re attentive, alert,” Rocha said in a video message posted on X. “Take care of yourselves, we are taking care of you.”
At least nine people had been killed in battles that erupted Monday, according to Sinaloa state prosecutors, while Milenio TV reported that many residents were sheltering in their homes. Trailer trucks and buses had been commandeered and burnt in various parts of Culiacan and surrounding highways, TV images showed.
Drug traffickers loyal to Zambada are feuding with followers of the so-called Chapitos, the name given to the four sons of imprisoned kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, according to local media. His sons were accused last year by the US Drug Enforcement Administration of pioneering the manufacturing and trafficking of fentanyl.
Zambada and El Chapo allegedly founded the Sinaloa Cartel together. El Chapo was extradited to the US in 2017 and is serving a life sentence, while Zambada was captured alongside El Chapo’s son Joaquin Guzman Lopez, in El Paso, Texas in late July.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during his daily press conference last Friday that the violence was due to a fight between two groups, without providing details. AMLO, as the president is known, said there were sufficient national guard troops in the area to provide security for the population.
“We have sufficient presence to guarantee peace,” Lopez Obrador said.
--With assistance from Cyntia Barrera Diaz.
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