By Jesus Bustamante
CULIACAN, Mexico (Reuters) – Authorities in the western Mexican state of Sinaloa canceled national holiday celebrations and closed schools on Thursday amid escalating violence stemming from internal fighting within the Sinaloa cartel, which has left 12 people dead since Monday.
Shootings, the sound of gunfire and burned-out vehicles have become common sights in the capital, Culiacan, a city of nearly 1 million people. Videos posted on social media showed convoys of heavily armed gunmen driving down major thoroughfares in Sinaloa, where many businesses have also been forced to close.
Tensions between the two most powerful factions of the Sinaloa cartel have been rising since late July, when the drug trafficker and leader of one of the groups, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was arrested in the United States.
The cartel leader, believed to be in his 70s, claims that a senior member of Los Chapitos, another faction of the cartel, kidnapped him and then flew him to the United States against his will.
Ruben Rocha Moya announced that schools and the celebration of the national holiday on September 15 will be suspended. He was concerned about the safety of children and young people.
“We have to continue to take care of them,” Rocha said.
Transportation in Culiacan is operating at reduced capacity, with many residents sheltering in their homes and not traveling to work. The Mexican federal government has sent more than 500 special forces soldiers to the state since Zambada's arrest.
Outgoing President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador said the military was trying to maintain order, adding that authorities “must try to ensure that the population is not affected and that they do not fight each other.”
(Written by Drazen Jorgic; Edited by Christopher Cushing)
