2023 Sinaloa unrest

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2023 Battle of Culiacán
Part of the Mexican drug war
DateJanuary 5–13, 2023
(9 days)
Location
Sinaloa, Mexico
Result

Mexican government victory

  • Successful capture and transfer of the druglord Ovidio Guzmán
  • Withdrawal of the Sinaloa Cartel's militant forces
Belligerents
 Mexico Sinaloa Cartel
Commanders and leaders
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Luis Cresencio Sandoval
Rubén Rocha Moya
Luis Rodríguez Bucio
Alfredo Salgado Vargas
Cristóbal Castañeda Camarillo		 Ovidio Guzmán López (POW)
Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar
Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar
Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas
Units involved

Mexican Armed Forces

Sinaloa Cartel factions

  • Los Chapitos (a.k.a. Gente Nueva)
    • El Ratón Special Forces (special forces wing)[1]
  • Los Ninis
  • Los Salazar
  • Los Chimales
  • Irregular troops of gunmen and "Hawks" (watchmen of the Sinaloa Cartel)
Strength
3,586 (4,500 post-riot) Around 5,000
Casualties and losses

10 soldiers killed
35 soldiers wounded
1 police officer killed
17 police officers wounded

Visually confirmed per Oryx:

2 DN-XI infantry mobility vehicles
1 technical
1 Boeing 737-800 lightly damaged
1 CASA C-295M lightly damaged

19 cartel members killed 21 cartel members captured

Visually confirmed per Oryx:

26 captured Sinaloa Cartel vehicles
14 destroyed Sinaloa Cartel vehicles
One 14 year old boy injured

The 2023 Battle of Culiacán began on January 5, 2023, following the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, son of jailed drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, sparking a wave of violence in the state of Sinaloa.[2] In retaliation for the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, cartel members blocked highways with burning vehicles and began attacks against the armed forces.[3] The Culiacán International Airport was closed after gunfire was opened on two planes (one passenger and the other military). On January 13, the Mexican Secretary of the Interior Adán Augusto López Hernández declared that "order has been reestablished" in Sinaloa.[4]

According to official reports, ten soldiers, a police officer and 19 alleged members of the Sinaloa Cartel were killed.[2] The violence prompted the Mexican military to launch a series of armed raids using planes and helicopters to attack cartel members.[5]

Arrest[edit]

The Mexican armed forces and local authorities began a recapture operation against Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, after a previous failed operation on October 17, 2019.

This new operation was carried out on January 5, 2023, in the Jesús María district of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico and with the help of air support, Ovidio Guzmán was arrested for the second time.[6]

Unrest[edit]

Following the arrest, the US Consulate in Hermosillo shared that it had received reports of gunshots, roadblocks, and fires in the cities of Culiacán, Los Mochis, and Guasave. The Consulate reiterated the US Department of State's highest level of travel advisory warning against travel to Sinaloa. Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya called on the public to shelter in place.[6]

Sinaloa Cartel gunmen opened fire on Mexican armed forces with a half-dozen .50-caliber truck-mounted machine guns. The army responded by calling in Blackhawk helicopter gunships to attack a convoy of 25 cartel vehicles, including the gun platforms. Then the cartel gunmen opened fire on the helicopters, forcing two of them down with "a significant number of impacts" in each of the two aircraft. The cartel then sent its gunmen to attack fixed-wing aircraft, both military and civilian, at the Culiacán International Airport. One civilian airliner was hit. The gunmen also shot up airport buildings to prevent authorities from flying the captured cartel boss out of the city. But the authorities anticipating the resistance had loaded Ovidio Guzmán onto a military helicopter to fly him to Mexico City.[2]

In Sinaloa's capital city, Culiacán, multiple roadblocks with cars on fire were reported, as well as multiple confrontations between the authorities and gang members.

The riots led to the closure of the Culiacán International Airport when two planes at the airport, one passenger, one belonging to Aeroméxico and one military, were shot at. Shootings were also reported at the runway.[7][8]

Aeroméxico also diverted plans for other Sinaloa regional airports. Attacks on two trucks on Highway 15 in neighboring Sonora led Aeroméxico to also cancel flights from Ciudad Obregon International Airport.[9]

After the wave of violence in the city, parts of Culiacán, and numerous companies and banks announced temporary closures throughout the state.[10] Journalists in the area reported multiple carjackings and demands for car keys.[8]

The wave of violence spread throughout the state of Sinaloa, even causing neighboring states like Nayarit to be on high alert. In Los Mochis, Guasave, Ahome and Mazatlán, fires caused in stores were reported, as well as more roadblocks with vehicles on fire.

On January 6, the clashes and shootouts began to cease, after the transfer of Ovidio Guzmán, to Mexico City, where he was taken to the maximum security federal prison "El Altiplano", in Toluca, State of Mexico.[11][6] On January 13, Adán Augusto López Hernández, Mexican Secretary of the Interior, declared during his visit in the port of Veracruz that, according to his communications with the governor of Sinaloa Rubén Rocha Moya, "order has been reestablished" in the state, even in the site of Jesús María [es], where Guzmán was apprehended.[4]

Aftermath[edit]

According to the Secretary of Public Education and Culture in Sinaloa, Graciela Domínguez Nava, conditions were deemed calm enough for all students in the state to return to presential classes by January 16, remarking the fact that by January 9 all but 101 schools reopened after classes were suspended in three municipalities due to the violence that surged.[12]

Inhabitants of Sinaloa observed the remains of charred cars, used as roadblocks the day before. The police and the army patrolled the desolate streets of the city. Federal transportation services closed their operations after a strong environment of insecurity, leaving several people stranded in multiple cities.

Ten soldiers, 19 gang members and one policeman died during the riots.[2][6][13][14] Among the victims were an infantry colonel and his four bodyguards who were ambushed and killed by cartel members in Escuinapa, Sinaloa.[15]

A Secretariat of National Defense-issued report put the forces used in the operation at 3,586 soldiers.[16][17] The Secretariat also claimed that seized in the course of the operation were "four .50 caliber Barrett rifles , six .50 caliber machine guns, 26 long arms, 2 handguns, magazines, cartridges, various tactical equipment and 13 operational vehicles."[17] The Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard reported that out of 47 weapons found during Guzmán's arrest, 63% originate from the United States, while the rest are of European origin. Ebrard stated they're working with Europol to find the location where the weapons were sold.[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Manuel, Aceves (7 January 2023). "Suman 14 muertos por balaceras en Culiacán". El Heraldo. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Stevenson, Mark; Verza, María (7 January 2022). "Mexico gives account of violence after 'Chapo' son nabbed". Associated Press.
  3. ^ All Source News [@All_Source_News] (January 6, 2023). "To everyone saying the below video is fake or old, here is a separate angle of the same event. https://t.co/KHfv35WRuO https://t.co/ULgiGwi2sZ" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 February 2023 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b "Adán Augusto aseguró que ya "se restableció el orden" en Sinaloa tras la captura de Ovidio Guzmán" [Adán Augusto claimed that "order has been reestablished" in Sinaloa after Ovidio Guzmán's capture]. Infobae (in Spanish). 13 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. ^ All Source News [@All_Source_News] (January 5, 2023). "Video of a Mexican Air Force T-6 supprting Mexican security forces earlier today in Culiacán, Sinaloa https://t.co/c6feYx5I01" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 February 2023 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ a b c d "Ovidio Guzmán-López: Twenty-nine killed during arrest of el Chapo's son". BBC News. 6 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Mexican airline Aeromexico says a plane was hit by gunfire, no reported injuries". NBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b Ferri, Pablo (2023-01-06). "Shootouts, burned-out cars and closed airports: Los Chapitos terrorize Culiacán after Ovidio Guzmán arrest". EL PAÍS English Edition. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  9. ^ "Aeropuerto y autobuses de Sonora suspenden operaciones por disturbios tras captura de Ovidio Guzmán". El Universal. 5 January 2023.
  10. ^ Santamaría, Aldo (5 January 2023). "IDEOS. Saquean comercios tras detención de Ovidio Guzmán". El Universal.
  11. ^ Land, Olivia (January 6, 2023). "Cartel kingpin El Chapo's son moved to maximum security after killings". New York Post.
  12. ^ Martínez, Javier Cabrera (14 January 2023). "Sinaloa regresa a clases el lunes tras recaptura de Ovidio Guzmán" [Sinaloa returns to classes on Monday after Ovidio Guzmán's recapture]. El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Al menos dos policías muertos tras captura de Ovidio Guzmán". Aristegui Noticias. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  14. ^ Wachauf, Daniela (5 January 2023). "Reportan un muerto y 18 lesionados tras enfrentamientos en Sinaloa por detención de Ovidio Guzmán". El Universal.
  15. ^ "Matan a coronel en emboscada tras detención de Ovidio Guzmán; reportan otros 4 muertos". El Universal. 5 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Ovidio Guzmán was caught with 17 more Sinaloa Cartel members". The Yucatan Times. 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  17. ^ a b Norman, Greg (2023-01-09). "Mexico says 3,586 soldiers involved in operation to capture El Chapo's son Ovidio Guzman". Fox News. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  18. ^ "La FGR investiga la compra de las armas usadas por Ovidio Guzmán, asegura Ebrard" [The FGR investigates the purchase of the weapons used by Ovidio Guzmán, claims Ebrard]. Expansión Política (in Spanish). 14 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
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