A cartel interrogation out of Zacatecas accuses Mayo-aligned gunmen, the Cabrera network from Durango, and elements of local security forces of working together through police protection, prison control, extortion, and rural camps. The claims are unverified, but the message is clear: Zacatecas’ war is inside the system, not outside it.

Durango is talking. Contacts say Ismael Zambada Imperial, “El Mayito Gordo,” left California and returned to Durango, where he was welcomed at a large fiesta and later seen in El Salado. I cannot confirm the protection rumor, but the reaction is real. The Cabreras heard it. So did the Aquiles.