Mazatlán expands security operations amid cartel violence
Original reporting: Infobae México
What happened
Infobae México reports that Mazatlán has become the center of a conflict between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos, prompting federal and local security deployments, including a 55-member rapid-response unit, 50 patrol bicycles, 29 Special Forces personnel, drones and armored vehicles.
Reporting and context
Mazatlán, Sinaloa, has become the epicenter of violence linked to a dispute between the Los Chapitos and Los Mayos factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to Infobae México. The report said the conflict moved to the tourist municipality in July and has prompted expanded federal and local security operations.
About 9,000 military personnel are deployed in the municipality, the article said. In early September, Mayor Estrella Palacios Domínguez announced a 55-member municipal rapid-response group, made up of 30 newly integrated officers and 25 existing members, for preventive patrols and special operations.
The report said the municipality also delivered 50 bicycles on Oct. 3 to Defense and National Guard personnel for patrols in the coastal corridor, the Malecón and the Historic Center. The investment exceeded 457,000 pesos. Infobae México reported that the bicycles were intended for areas where vehicles have limited access.
Homicide figures cited by the outlet from Fiscalía General del Estado data reported by Noroeste rose from a monthly average of five to nine cases to about 36 in July. Noroeste reported 61 murders and 12 femicides in August.
On Oct. 5, officials presented a 29-member Special Operations Group trained in urban and night operations, precision shooting, explosives handling and parachuting. The unit will focus on high-impact crimes and receive support from drones and Ocelot armored vehicles.
State Public Security Secretary Gen. Sinuhé Téllez López said the Sinaloa Cartel conflict began in September 2024 and acknowledged that authorities had not contained the homicide rate despite the security deployments.