Mexico’s army seizes local police weapons in cartel heartland amid gunfights, violence

The Mexican army has seized the weapons of local police in the cartel-dominated city of Culiacan in the country’s northwest Sinaloa state as violence and gunfights have ravaged the city in recent weeks, reports said this week.

Following the seizures, the roughly 1,000-strong police force was pulled off the streets by the state’s governor, Ruben Rocha, noting they will not be reinstated until their weapons are returned. 

But the move came just one day after some 1,500 residents of Culiacan hit the streets in a massive protest over the gang violence – which has led to the deaths of dozens in recent weeks – demanding peace in the capital city.

Mexican security forces respond at the scene of a crime where five men were murdered amid a wave of violence between armed groups in Culiacan, Mexico, Sept. 15, 2024. (Reuters/Jesus Bustamante)

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Soldiers, state police and national guard units have instead been called in to stand in the place of the local police while the army runs checks on weaponry serial numbers and validates permits. 

Rocha claimed the checks were “exceptional” and said he hopes the non-routine procedures “will end soon.”

But, according to The Associated Press, the Mexican army in the past has seized weapons from distrusted police forces it suspected of either being involved in aiding the cartel, or over concerns the units were carrying unregistered arms that made abuses harder to trace. 

Violent clashes between cartel groups broke out in the Sinaloa region after drug lords Ismael Zambada, also known as “El Mayo,” and Joaquín Guzmán López were apprehended in the U.S. on July 25 after flying in on a small plane. 

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The burnt wreckage of a bus and a truck set on fire by members of a drug gang in Culiacan, Mexico, Jan. 5, 2023. (Reuters/Stringer)

But claims later surfaced that Zambada was forced to board the plane after being abducted by Guzmán López, who also goes by “El Chapo” – prompting violent battles between the gang groups dubbed the “Chapitos” and the “Mayitos.”

The cartel violence has led to open gunfights across Culiacan, including in the downtown area as well as upscale neighborhoods, causing parents to question the safety of sending their children to school.

“There are two groups that are confronting each other here,” Rocha said. “The authorities are here to face them down equally, both of them without exceptions.”

Soldiers guard a scene after a confrontation between municipal police and gunmen, in Culiacan, Mexico, Sept. 21, 2024. (Reuters/Jesus Bustamante)

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But the fighting has become so extreme that cartel gunmen have begun hijacking buses and trucks before setting them ablaze to serve as highway blockades on routes leading in and out of the city – one such blockade that Rocha also got stuck behind on his way to meet with former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in late September. 

The governor on Monday pledged to set up five “anti-blockade squads” though he warned that ultimately they will not be able to stop the hijackings until the cartel groups cease their fighting.