Mexican city rocked by explosion amid Los Mayos and Los Chapitos cartel war

A powerful explosion rocked Culiacán early on Tuesday morning, amid the ongoing battle between Los Mayos and Los Chapitos for control of the Sinaloa Cartel. Although there were no reported injuries, numerous reports of gunshots and explosions have emerged throughout the state capital in northwestern Mexico over the last few hours. The violence has already led to at least four murders, according to local media.

The explosion occurred around 3:30 a.m. in the Limita de Itaje, a rural area on the outskirts of the city. “It appears to be a drone-type device,” said Omar Hamid García Harfuch, Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection, following a press conference with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Initial reports indicated that bursts of gunfire were heard after the explosion, and long columns of smoke could be seen from several city neighborhoods. The vehicle involved in the explosion was completely torched. Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya did not post any comment on social media in the hours after the incident.

The Sinaloa Public Security Secretariat held a press conference stating that authorities had inspected the interior of the vehicle and confirmed that the gas tank did not explode, which helped them rule out the possibility of a car bomb. They also discovered a drone with a camera at the scene, though it was also burned. However, officials did not provide further details on the motive behind the explosion or whether other violent incidents preceded it. The state prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to clarify the situation and identify those responsible.

García Harfuch emphasized that both civil and federal forces have been deployed to bolster the “state of force” of authorities, capture the “generators of violence,” and make “high-impact arrests.” Sinaloa has been experiencing uninterrupted violence for nearly three months, which began following the capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in the United States after he was allegedly betrayed by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, his former partner and co-founder of the cartel.

The secretary called for a vote of confidence in the new administration’s strategy, emphasizing that the ongoing conflict would not be resolved overnight. “This is a constant effort that the forces of the Security Cabinet must carry out,” said García Harfuch. The official assured that progress had been made in Sinaloa compared to the early weeks of the conflict, sparked by divisions within the cartel. “It has been contained because the strongest clashes have not occurred within Culiacán as they did at the beginning, when everything was concentrated more in the central area,” he added.

Governor Rocha confirmed three weeks ago that the warring factions of the Sinaloa Cartel had adapted their tactics, enhanced their arsenal, and begun using drones to target their rivals. He specifically referred to a confrontation in Las Arenitas, a community in the municipality of Eldorado, where drones were used to drop explosives. “We had firecrackers with drones, but we are taking action,” he said. In recent weeks, law enforcement has seized several of these devices, with the National Guard confiscating a drone found in an abandoned truck in mid-October during a routine operation in Culiacán.

The explosion was not the only violent event to rock Culiacán. Federal authorities confirmed that the ongoing cartel conflict claimed at least 10 lives on Monday, placing Sinaloa among the most violent states in the country, alongside Guanajuato and Baja California, both of which also reported 10 murders in 24 hours. The violence’s impact extends beyond the death toll. Overnight, two dismembered bodies were discovered in plastic boxes in front of a state government office in the Tres Ríos residential sector. Hours earlier, a video circulated showing elementary school students lying on the ground to protect themselves from a shootout near their school in the Stanza Torralba subdivision. A shootout was also reported near a hamburger business in the area, and a fire at a local party hall made headlines in the media.

The violence continued into Tuesday, with three bodies found along the highway between Culiacán and Eldorado, according to the newspaper Noroeste. The victims showed signs of torture: they were gagged, their heads covered, and they had been shot in the head — the so-called “coup de grace.” A message was found at the crime scene. Another body was discovered on a dirt road near La Costerita, one of Culiacán’s busiest areas. The internal war within the Sinaloa Cartel has resulted in significant economic losses, with the local economy suffering a blow of 18 billion pesos and 25,000 jobs disappearing, according to data collected by Reforma from the business sector. Official data also reports at least 482 murders since September 9 as a direct consequence of the cartel’s infighting.

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