Mexico's president asks Sinaloa cartel to act 'responsibly' as violence escalates in the north

Outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador delivers his last State of the Union at the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday asked the warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel to act "responsibly" so no one else gets killed, after a week of escalating violence nearly paralyzed the Sinaloa state capital, Culiacan.

Asked by a journalist if he trusted that the cartels would heed his call, Lopez Obrador answered bluntly: "The president of Mexico is always listened to."

"Even by criminals?" pressed the journalist.

"By everyone, more so if one has moral authority," responded the president.

The exchange Friday during the president's morning press briefing is the latest in a series of instances where Lopez Obrador has downplayed the clashes between factions of the Sinaloa cartel.

The president, who leaves office on Sept. 30, has repeatedly refused to confront cartels, laying out various justifications for his "hugs, not bullets" strategy offering opportunities to youths so they won't join cartels.

The latest clashes in Culiacan are the latest example of the violence that continues to plague Mexico, where cartels employ increasingly sophisticated forms of warfare including roadside bombs or IEDs, trenches, home-made armored vehicles and bomb-dropping drones.

The cartels "have to look for other ways, so they do not harm innocent people ... and avoid further loss of life," Lopez Obrador said on Friday. "They also should take care of themselves and their families."

The surge in violence had been expected after Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, landed near El Paso, Texas on July 25 in a small plane with Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

Zambada was the cartel's elder figure and reclusive leader. After his arrest, he said in a letter circulated by his lawyer that he had been abducted by the younger Guzman and taken to the U.S. against his will.

Now there appears to be a struggle for power between the remaining sons of El Chapo, known locally as "the Chapitos," and those loyal to Zambada.

As of Thursday, state authorities had reported at least 12 dead, 11 people with gunshot wounds, 20 reports of missing people and 31 cases of car robberies. The actual number of fatalities may be higher since the cartels often pick up their own dead.

Streets in Culiacan appeared empty as schools and businesses remained closed Friday and festivities around Mexican Independence on Sept. 15-16 were officialy canceled by the local government.