The number of people reported missing in Mexico’s violence-hit Sinaloa region has doubled since two rival factions of the drug cartel began a bloody battle for control of their criminal organization.
According to official figures, more than 200 people have disappeared since the two Sinaloa factions declared war on each other about three months ago.
The controversy erupted after the arrest in the US of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
His followers, known as “Los Mayos” or “La Mayiza”, say that he was betrayed by the son of the founder of the Sinaloa group, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and have turned to members of his group, known as “Los Chapitos”.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sent her security chief, Omar García Harfuch, to Sinaloa state to end the violence.
An increase in killings and disappearances in Sinaloa has overshadowed Sheinbaum’s first months in office.
She was sworn in as Mexico’s first female head of state on October 1 after a campaign promise to uphold the path taken by her predecessor, who avoided direct confrontation with factions.
“There will be no return to a careless drug war,” he said in his first speech, dismissing a more aggressive approach.
But facing mounting criticism in his home country and pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump, who wants Mexico to do more to curb the smuggling of the opioid fentanyl into the US, Sheinbaum on Wednesday appeared to be fighting the violence in Sinaloa. which is important.
In a press conference, he said his administration will adopt a “zero tolerance” approach.
He also credited law enforcement for making Mexico’s largest fentanyl haul to date.
“This investigation has been going on for a long time and yesterday, it gave these results. The largest number of fentanyl tablets ever seized,” he said.
Earlier, Mexico’s chief security officer, Omar García Harfuch, announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the fentanyl pills seized in two locations in Sinaloa were worth $394m (£309m) and weighed more than a ton.
“These actions will continue until the violence subsides in Sinaloa province,” he said in the mail [in Spanish].
News of the fentanyl boom came more than a week after Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada on the first day of his presidency.
He said the prices will remain there until “until the time when drugs, especially fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country”.
Mexican officials also announced on Wednesday that they had arrested more than 5,200 immigrants across the country in the previous day, in what appeared to be a response to President Sheinbaum’s promise to Trump to stop the migrant caravan going north through Mexico from reaching the US border.
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