FRANCE 24 report: Inside the war between rival factions of the powerful Sinaloa cartel

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00Two sombreros rest on these corpses found this morning on the side of a Culecán road.

00:05This is the distinctive sign of La Maíza, the group led by Elmayo Zambada's son, which

00:11is waging a merciless war against its rival, Los Chapitos.

00:15A few hours later, another body is found in this impoverished part of town.

00:21Veronica copes as best she can with the sudden violence.

00:25I'm terrified.

00:26The government wants to downplay things when in fact it's happening in broad daylight.

00:32Imagine at night, we don't sleep.

00:35For the past three weeks, the state capital has been plunged into a spiral of violence

00:40as two formerly allied factions battle to take control of the Sinaloa cartel.

00:45Every night, Guillermo takes part in the fight on behalf of Los Chapitos.

00:51They've been very clear.

00:52On both sides, it's an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

00:57They haven't tried to negotiate.

00:58They want war.

00:59And that's what's going to happen.

01:01Maybe my cousin is on the other side, or even my brother or my father-in-law.

01:05We don't know.

01:08Once a watchman, he's now forced to carry a gun, risking his life every day.

01:14I have children, a wife.

01:16Maybe tomorrow I won't be with them anymore.

01:19I have a friend who was recently shot and his family is left with nothing except their

01:24eyes to cry.

01:27Despite the deployment of 2,800 soldiers as reinforcements, the situation is not improving.

01:34Less than 10 percent of this school's students showed up this morning.

01:38Yes, parents are obviously hesitant.

01:41If there's a gunfight, all the children get down on the ground.

01:44No one looks up.

01:45No one goes out.

01:46It's the most common thing that you hear gunshots.

01:51Sinaloa's residents have experienced spikes in violence following the arrest of a crime

01:55boss on several occasions.

01:57But this time, the scenario is different.

02:00People are even more afraid that another powerful cartel, Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación,

02:06takes advantage of the weakness of its enemy, gets into the state, leads the drug traffic

02:11and imposes its brutal rules on the population.

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