Deadly Cartel Violence Surges in Mexican City of Culiacán: ‘Fear Everywhere’ as Rival Sinaloa Factions Battle for Control
Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico – February 26, 2026 – The streets of Culiacán, the historic heartland of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, have once again descended into open warfare. Over the past 72 hours, at least 28 people have been killed in a ferocious power struggle between rival factions of the fractured Sinaloa Cartel, marking one of the bloodiest episodes in the city since the infamous “Culiacanazo” of 2019. Residents describe a climate of terror: shootouts in broad daylight, bodies left in vehicles and on sidewalks, roadblocks erected by heavily armed gunmen, and the constant sound of automatic gunfire echoing through neighborhoods.
BBC correspondent Will Grant, reporting from the ground, captured the prevailing mood in a dispatch titled “Fear Everywhere”: “People are afraid to leave their homes. Schools have closed, businesses have shuttered their metal curtains, and entire avenues are deserted except for convoys of pick-up trucks filled with masked gunmen flying black flags bearing the letters ‘CDS’ or rival insignia.” Eyewitness accounts describe scenes reminiscent of urban combat zones—burning vehicles, bullet-riddled facades, and improvised barricades of stolen trucks and buses blocking major thoroughfares.
The Trigger: Succession Crisis After “Los Chapitos” Arrests
The current explosion of violence stems from the ongoing implosion of the Sinaloa Cartel following the July 2024 arrest in the United States of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López (son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán). Their detention in El Paso, Texas, triggered a bitter succession battle between two main factions:
- Los Chapitos (led by Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, other sons of El Chapo)
- Los Mayos / La Mayiza (loyal to the Zambada family and allied commanders such as “El Guasón,” “El Nini,” and factions under Ismael “El Mayito Flaco” Zambada Sicairos)
The split has been brewing since late 2024, but escalated dramatically in early February 2026 when gunmen believed to be aligned with Los Chapitos ambushed and killed several high-ranking Mayiza commanders in Navolato and Badiraguato. Retaliation followed swiftly: on February 23, a convoy of Los Mayos gunmen attacked properties and safe houses linked to the Guzmán brothers in central Culiacán, igniting three days of continuous clashes.
Mexican security forces—both the National Guard and the Mexican Army—have deployed in large numbers but have largely adopted a containment rather than confrontation posture. Checkpoints dot the city, yet soldiers and guardsmen have been ordered to avoid direct engagement with cartel gunmen unless fired upon, a strategy critics call “containment by absence.” Authorities report recovering more than 40 high-powered rifles, several grenade launchers, and improvised explosive devices during the violence.
Human Cost and Civilian Terror
Beyond the body count of cartel gunmen, the violence has exacted a heavy toll on civilians. At least five non-combatants—including a taxi driver, a street vendor, and a teenage girl caught in crossfire—have been confirmed dead. Dozens more have been wounded. Hospitals in Culiacán report operating at capacity, with medical staff treating gunshot victims around the clock. Several families have fled the most affected colonias (neighborhoods) such as Tres Ríos, Infonavit Humaya, and Lomas de Rodriguera, seeking refuge with relatives in Mazatlán or Guadalajara.
Social media videos show harrowing scenes: parents shielding children as bullets fly overhead, residents waving white flags from windows to plead for ceasefires, and abandoned vehicles riddled with bullet holes blocking escape routes. One widely circulated clip shows a young woman screaming for help while crouched behind a car as automatic gunfire erupts blocks away.
Local journalist Luis Chaparro, who has covered Sinaloa for years, posted on X: “Culiacán is living its worst days since 2019. People are trapped in their homes. No one knows when or how this ends.”
Why Culiacán Matters: The Cartel’s Symbolic and Operational Capital
Culiacán is not just any Mexican city—it is the historic birthplace, financial nerve center, and symbolic capital of the Sinaloa Cartel. The organization’s ability to openly challenge the state here in 2019 (forcing the release of Ovidio Guzmán after hours of urban combat) shocked the world and exposed the limits of Mexico’s security strategy. Today’s fighting demonstrates that the cartel’s internal fractures are now strong enough to paralyze the city once again, raising fresh questions about the Mexican government’s capacity to assert control.
President Claudia Sheinbaum, in office since October 2024, has maintained the “hugs, not bullets” philosophy of her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador while promising a more focused intelligence-led approach. Yet critics argue that the hands-off posture in Sinaloa has allowed the cartel war to spiral out of control. Opposition politicians and security analysts are calling for a major federal intervention, including the possible designation of Culiacán as a “special security zone” with heavier troop deployments.
Regional and International Ripples
The violence in Culiacán has immediate repercussions beyond Sinaloa. Fentanyl precursor chemicals continue to flow through the region toward the U.S. border, and any prolonged disruption to cartel logistics could affect supply chains. U.S. officials have privately expressed alarm that prolonged chaos could create opportunities for rival groups—such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)—to expand influence in Sinaloa territory.
As bodies continue to appear and gunfire echoes into the night, Culiacán stands as a tragic microcosm of Mexico’s enduring cartel crisis: a place where state authority is contested daily, where fear dictates daily life, and where the death toll rises while political solutions remain distant.
By: Juba Global News Network | JubaGlobal.com
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