Thousands March in Culiacán Demanding an End to Devastating Two-Year Cartel Feud

Thousands of demonstrators dressed in white flooded the streets of Culiacán on Sunday, raising their voices against the relentless criminal violence that has terrorized the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa. Carrying portraits of vanished family members and banners declaring "We don't want fear, we want peace," the marchers gathered to demand safety, justice, and an end to an escalating conflict between rival drug factions that has upended daily life across the region.

The mass demonstration was intentionally timed to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the outbreak of an internecine war between two powerful factions of the Sinaloa cartel. What was once an uneasy alliance fractured into open combat following the high-profile detention of veteran drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada on United States soil. The resulting fallout has transformed parts of the state into volatile flashpoints of violent clashes.

According to loyalists of Zambada, known collectively as La Mayiza, their longtime leader was betrayed by the son of imprisoned cartel co-founder Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. This alleged act of treachery sparked immediate and fierce retaliation against the rival faction led by Guzmán’s sons, known as Los Chapitos. The two armed wings have since been engaged in an unyielding battle for supremacy, influence, and territorial control across northwestern Mexico.

For the more than three million people residing across the state of Sinaloa, the consequences of this intra-cartel war have been catastrophic. Both factions routinely launch calculated ambushes, conduct broad-daylight drive-by shootings, and establish disruptive roadblocks across major thoroughfares by hijacking commercial trucks and setting them ablaze. These violent tactics have routinely placed ordinary residents directly in the line of fire.

Official statistics reflect a severe deterioration in local security over the past two years, with both homicides and forced disappearances skyrocketing throughout the state. In addition to the bloodshed on the streets, the breakdown in stability has fueled sharp increases in other criminal activities, notably extortion schemes targeting local enterprises and widespread armed robberies.

Sunday's peaceful mobilization brought together a wide-ranging coalition of civil society, including relatives of missing and murdered victims, local commercial groups, civic organizations, and representatives of the Catholic Church. Marchers underscored that the enduring conflict has permeated every facet of community life, stripping citizens of their sense of security in public spaces and in their homes.

Among the participants were the grieving family members of a one-year-old boy who was killed the previous week after sustaining a fatal gunshot wound to the head during an armed confrontation in the city. Other demonstrators held aloft signs bearing the faces and names of disappeared relatives, such as Jose Gonzalo Flores Molinares, pleading for information regarding their whereabouts and urging authorities not to abandon their search efforts.

The economic toll on the regional hub has been equally severe. Sergio Esquer, a prominent local businessman and a representative of the centre-left opposition party Movimiento Ciudadano, highlighted the immense financial strain caused by the perpetual insecurity. Esquer noted that more than 5,000 businesses across the area have been forced to permanently shut down since the fighting began, describing the widespread closures as central to the tragedy currently afflicting Sinaloa.

The protest activities commenced with a religious service led by the Bishop of Culiacán, who used his pulpit to issue an impassioned moral appeal directly to the armed groups responsible for the bloodshed. During the Mass, the bishop implored cartel members to reflect on the immense human suffering their struggle for power has generated among innocent civilians and local families.

"Stop, look at what's happening, look at the affected families, look at the young people and at our city," the bishop declared during his sermon. He emphatically reminded the warring factions that "no amount of power, of money, territory or ambition is worth more than a human life," urging them to lay down their weapons for the sake of the wider community.

The public outcry comes amid profound political instability at the highest levels of Sinaloa's state leadership. The administration of Governor Rubén Rocha has been mired in crisis since April, when United States prosecutors filed formal accusations against him alongside nine other current and former state officials. The indictment alleged that the officials conspired with the Los Chapitos faction to facilitate the smuggling of illicit narcotics into the US.

Rocha has consistently rejected the accusations, maintaining his innocence. In the wake of the initial US charges, he temporarily stepped aside from the governorship while Mexican federal prosecutors initiated their own domestic inquiry into the matter. However, his subsequent efforts to resume his duties have been met with persistent political headwinds.

Although Rocha returned to his gubernatorial post three weeks ago, his resumption of power was short-lived. Only days after returning, he submitted a request for another leave of absence following pointed public remarks by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Writing on social media, the president commented that "power without principles becomes arrogance," a remark widely interpreted as directed at the embattled state governor amid mounting demands for accountability in the cartel-ravaged state.