Key Takeaways:
– Cartel gunmen demand access to cellphones, using information found on them to target and kill individuals.
– The inner-warfare has left Culiacan residents in constant fear, even in daylight.
– A new generation of drug lords have instigated different and more violent tactics.
– The violent conflict is severely affecting local business, with an estimated 2,000 jobs lost since September 9.
– Despite the deployment of army troops, the actual end of violence depends on the cartel factions.
Mexico’s Sinaloa Drug Cartel’s Factional War Turns Cellphone Chats into Death Traps
The ongoing bloody factional battle within Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel has created a frightening new reality for residents of Culiacan. Cartel gunmen are now targeting individuals based on their cellphone chats or contact list. The harsh reality is, a wrongly placed word in a chat or a photo with an unfavoured person can signify a death sentence for the phone owner.
Extraordinary Levels of Fear and Danger
Locals are stopped on the streets or in their cars by cartel members who demand their phones. If they find a contact who is a member of a rival faction, the phone owner meets their death. The execution doesn’t end there, as the murderers start targeting everyone on the victim’s contact list, leading to a possible chain of kidnapping, torture, and deaths.
Previously, residents could venture out sparingly, braving the danger period spanning a few miles’ radius. However, the heightened tension now keeps them in fear even within the city limits, especially during the nights. For example, a chat with a wrong word or a photo with a wrong person can cost an entire group of friends their lives.
Emergence of Younger, More Violent Drug Lords
The factional war escalated after the apprehension of drug lords Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López in the United States. Following their arrests, a new generation of younger, more high-profile drug lords have taken the reins. These new leaders exhibit their ruthlessness through brutal displays of extreme violence, kidnapping, and cell phone tracking. The erstwhile peaceful residents of Culiacan have been witnessing these brutal realities of war, with bodies often left in cars or flung out in open areas, marking the changing face of cartel warfare.
Economic Impact of the War
The violence not only undermines safety but has also decimated the city’s once-thriving local economy. Businesses, restaurants, and nightclubs have been forced to shut down, with estimated job losses in the thousands since the intensification of the conflict on Sept. 9. Those desperately wishing to evade the violence are left with the harsh reality that fleeing the city by road is perilous due to the commonplace occurrence of carjackings and kidnappings.
Government’s Counteraction Falls Short
In response to the crisis, the government has increased the army’s presence. However, this has not been as effective as hoped. The army’s urban combat against the powerful cartel, equipped with machine guns and sniper rifles, is not their forte, leading to devastating errors like the accidental killing of a young lawyer recently. The situation has raised strong doubts about the security forces’ ability to protect even the youngest residents, whose safety should be unquestionable. This dilemma has forced parents to opt for online classes as schools are currently deemed too unsafe for physical attendance.
While government officials attribute the surrender of drug lords to threats from the U.S, the end of the violence undoubtedly lies with cartel factions. If they decide to cease the hostility, only then, can the city hope for peace. Economic recovery also depends on this requisite peace. Until it is achieved, businesses will likely remain closed, and people will continue living in a state of fear. As a result, the cruel reality for many Culiacan residents today is that the only safe escape from this vicious cycle of violence lies in fleeing the city by air, a luxury few can afford.