Nearly eight months in, the internal conflict between "Los Chapitos" and "La Mayiza" continues to escalate. Tensions worsened recently when gunmen loyal to the faction led by the sons of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán attacked a drug rehabilitation center in Culiacán, Sinaloa, in search of a rival ringleader tied to the faction led by Ismael Zambada Sicairos, the son of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.
The attackers killed eight patients, and according to one survivor, the death toll would have been higher if their weapons hadn't jammed. The indiscriminate attack is one of dozens since turf wars between the rival factions broke out last September, following the capture of "El Mayo" Zambada — an arrest his group claims was orchestrated by the "Chapitos."
As of April 20, at least 1,135 homicides have been reported in the state of Sinaloa due to the ongoing violent conflict. On top of the hundreds of homicides, more than 1,300 people have gone missing, according to data from Noroeste.
Averaging more than five homicides per day since September, many local and security experts told InSight Crime that this level of violence is unprecedented in the area, as the sense of betrayal felt by "La Mayiza" has provoked what some of them called an "extermination campaign" that may not end until one of the factions has been eradicated.
According to the outlet, before turf wars erupted the two factions previously divided control of Sinaloa's capital city in a mutually agreed upon arrangement: the northern part of the city belonged to the "Chapitos" while the "Mayiza" controlled the south.
But since September, both sides have used information about key operational points to target each other with attacks such as the one at the rehab center.
"It's unprecedented," Óscar Loza Ochoa, president of the Sinaloa state human rights commission, told InSight Crime. "No prior conflict has ever lasted this long or had such a profound economic impact."
Apart from the high number of homicides, forced disappearances and kidnappings have reached an all-time record since September. According to Noroeste's data, before turf wars began, Sinaloa averaged 3.2 forced disappearances per day. But in the past seven months, that number has jumped to 5.8 per day.
"What we're seeing is historic," said a member of a local security commission, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons. "We've never seen this many forced disappearances before, and considering the cifra negra, there could be twice as many."
According to experts that talked to InSight Crime, the motives behind the more than 1,300 forced disappearances vary. Some of them are believed to involve forced recruitment — particularly of low-level lookouts known as punteros or halcones — while others appear aimed at spreading fear in local communities or targeting rival cells.
Although most kidnappings target rival cartel members, an unknown number of innocent people have been caught in the crossfire between "Chapitos" and "Mayos."
As of April 20, Noroeste says that 80 homicide complaints have been reported to state authorities, while the number of kidnappings reached 66.
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