Thousands demand end to violence in Mexican cartel hotspot

ByVanessa Buschschlüter Latin America online editor.

Key points

• Businessman Sergio Esquer informed AFP news agency that more than 5, 000 businesses had closed since the start of the feud.
• "That's the tragedy Sinaloa is experiencing, " Esquer, who is a leader in the centre-left opposition party Movimiento Ciudadano, remarked.
• Thousands of individuals have taken to the streets of Culiacán to demand an end to the violence that has wracked the north Mexico city.
• The event began with a Mass in which the bishop of Culiacán called on members of the warring groups to put an end to their violence.
• In April, US prosecutors accused the state's governor, Rubén Rocha, and nine other current and former authorities of conspiring with Los Chapitos to smuggle drugs into the US.

Meanwhile, the state of Sinaloa has seen the number of murders and disappearances skyrocket since two factions of the Sinaloa cartel began a bloody war two years ago.

Residents dressed in white held up posters of missing loved and signs reading "We don't want fear, we want peace" at the protest on Sunday.

More than three million individuals live in Sinaloa and numerous say that the war between the two rival factions – known as Los Chapitos and La Mayiza – has blighted their lives.

'Fear is everywhere': BBC reports from Mexican city turned into war zone by drug cartel feud.

Notably, the march was scheduled to coincide with the second anniversary since the start of the conflict – which feud broke out after the arrest of wanted drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada in the US.

His followers, La Mayiza, allege he was betrayed by the son of the infamous founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, and have turned on members of his faction, Los Chapitos.

Meanwhile, the two factions regularly carry out ambushes, drive-by shootings and erect roadblocks by hijacking trucks. It they set alight. Residents of Culiacán have been caught up in this internecine war.

Not only has the number of murders and disappearances shot up in the state but additionally those of extortions and robberies, official figures suggest.

Sunday's protest was organised by relatives of victims, local businesses, civil society groups and the Catholic church.

Notably, the event began with a Mass in which the bishop of Culiacán called on members of the warring groups to put an end to their violence.

"Stop, look at what's happening, look at the affected families, look at the young individuals and at our city. No amount of power, of funds, territory or ambition is worth more than a human life, " he stated.

Among those who attended the protest were relatives of a one-year-old boy who died after being hit by a bullet in the head during a shootout in the city last week.

As well as the wave of violence, Sinaloa state has additionally been hit by political upheaval in recent months.

Rocha, who has denied any wrongdoing, stepped down temporarily while Mexican prosecutors opened an investigation of their own into the allegations.

Three weeks ago, he returned to his post, but just days afterwards requested another leave of absence after President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on social media, without directly naming him that "power without principles becomes arrogance".

Taken together, the developments around thousands demand end to violence in Mexican cartel hotspot point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.