The relentless struggle between factions deepens the Sinaloa war: bodies in coolers and a surge in homicides

"The kidnapping and subsequent surrender to U.S. authorities of Ismael El Mayo Zambada by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of his former partner, drug kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, in July 2024 at the Santa Teresa airport in El Paso, Texas, was like a metaphor for Chaos Theory. This theory states that a small disturbance, like the flap of a butterfly's wings, can cause disproportionate effects thousands of miles away."

"This betrayal within the Sinaloa Cartel triggered, just a few months later, an all-out war between the heirs of the leaders of an international empire worth billions of dollars, generated by trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other illicit drugs. The war in that state has left a trail of violence and bloodshed that continues unabated a year later, with 1,824 murders recordedtriple the number from the previous yearand nearly 800 disappearances."

"Three coolers were left on Sunday morning along the Culiacan Bypass, the road that surrounds the capital of Sinaloa and connects Mazatlan with Los Mochis. The containers, which would normally hold ice and be used to store drinks at parties, were instead used to place, piece by piece, the body of a man. His head, arms, hands, legs, torso. All dismembered as if it were a set from a horror movie, except that this is real."

Joaquin Guzman Lopez kidnapped and surrendered Ismael El Mayo Zambada to U.S. authorities in July 2024 at El Paso's Santa Teresa airport. The internal betrayal sparked an all-out war among heirs of the Sinaloa Cartel's leaders over control of a multi-billion-dollar trafficking empire moving cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and other drugs. The year-long conflict produced at least 1,824 murders, nearly 800 disappearances, and escalating violence despite governmental blows to Los Chapitos. Dismemberments and public killings have proliferated, disrupting traditional holiday celebrations across multiple Sinaloa municipalities and causing mass fear and social paralysis in the region.

Read at english.elpais.com