Latest news with #Culiacán
The Guardian
30-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Mexico steps into unknown with world's first popular election of all judges: ‘A blind date with democracy'
On a heat-dazed afternoon in Culiacán, the capital of Mexico's Sinaloa state, a tannoy by the cathedral was droning through an advert for the judicial elections on loop when a plume of smoke appeared in the sky. A flicker of agitation ran through the plaza. After months of cartel conflict, Sinaloa is on edge. Yet on 1 June, it and the rest of Mexico will start to elect every judge in the country, from local magistrates to supreme court justices, by popular vote. It is a world-first democratic experiment, but one that has prompted warnings of low turnout, a political power grab and infiltration by organised crime. The reform is the most radical move made by the governing Morena party and its allies since they won a congressional supermajority last year allowing them to change the constitution at will. Few disagree that Mexico's judicial system needs change. Justice is inaccessible to many, corruption is commonplace and impunity is rampant. Morena claims its reform will address these issues by making the judiciary more responsive to popular opinion. But critics say it will bulldoze the separation of powers, and that by throwing the doors open to less qualified candidates whose campaigns may be backed by opaque interests – including organised crime groups – it could aggravate the very problems it seeks to solve. Delia Quiroa, a well-known advocate for Mexico's disappeared, is no fan of the reform. But she admits it has given her a chance to become a federal judge she would not otherwise have had. It is just the latest unexpected turn in a life that was shattered the moment her brother, Roberto, was disappeared on 10 March 2014. Though born in Culiacán, Quiroa moved to the border state of Tamaulipas when she was a child. She had been studying to become an engineer, but as the years stretched on with no sign of her brother, she retrained as a lawyer to force the authorities into action. Threats from criminal groups eventually displaced her family to Mexico City. Then last year they moved back to Sinaloa, which for years had been relatively calm owing to the dominance of the eponymous cartel. 'People used to say that the narcos in Sinaloa left the public out of [their fights],' Quiroa said, with a rueful smile. 'Then this conflict began.' In July 2024, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who founded the Sinaloa cartel with Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, was detained by US authorities along with one of Guzmán's sons after a small plane touched down in Texas. El Mayo accused El Chapo's son of betraying and delivering him to US authorities. Now a faction led by El Mayo's son is waging war against another led by the two sons of El Chapo who remain free in Mexico. As the conflict enters a ninth month, it has left well over 2,000 dead or disappeared. And it has made the judicial elections even more complicated. 'The violence has hit the campaign,' said Quiroa. 'You can't always find people in the streets.' The city centre market was Quiroa's target for the day. Friends and family came along, handing out pamphlets with her logo: a spade and a gavel crossed over the scales of justice. 'I try to explain that I have no political or economic interest in this,' said Quiroa. 'That the only thing I want is a change in this country.' But as Quiroa bounced between market stalls, people's responses did nothing to dispel fears of an uninformed vote come 1 June. Unlike in other elections, parties cannot support candidates, nor can candidates openly profess a partisan affiliation, even if they clearly have one. Radio and TV spots are also banned, meaning largely unknown candidates are limited to handing out flyers and posting on social media. Then there is the sheer number of them. Voters will be faced with at least six ballot papers, some with dozens of names on them but little else. 'It looks like an exam,' sighed Quiroa. Even an enthusiastic supporter of the reform – a butcher behind a pile of cow hooves, who celebrated the election as a chance for 'the people to stop the robbery' – could not name a candidate. Others were sceptical, if not cynical. 'I'm not going to vote for candidates I don't know,' said one shoe shiner, who was reading a dog-eared biography of 19th-century president Benito Juárez. 'Just like I won't eat a meal if I don't know what's in it. It's common sense.' According to the president of the National Electoral Institute, voter turnout is expected to be less than 20%. Even though Morena is not allowed to back candidates, many assume it will use its unrivalled capacity to mobilise voters to help its preferred candidates – particularly for the supreme court, which has often acted as a check on Morena's executive power, and a new disciplinary tribune, which will keep judges in line. 'Morena wants to hoard all the power,' said the shoe shiner. 'They don't want to leave a crumb for anyone else.' But other interests, including organised crime, may also seize the opportunity. Defensorxs, a civil society organisation, has identified various 'highly risky' candidates, including a lawyer who was counsel to El Chapo and a former state prosecutor in Michoacán accused of alleged involvement in the murder of two journalists. 'I don't think people have managed to find out who the candidates are and what each kind of position actually does,' said Marlene León Fontes, from Iniciativa Sinaloa, a civil society organisation. 'People will vote on the basis of personal connections or political parties 'It's a blind date with democracy,' she said. If Quiroa emerges a judge, she says she will be an 'iron fist' against corrupt and negligent authorities – not least when it comes to searching for the more than 120,000 people registered as disappeared, and identifying the 72,000 bodies in Mexico's morgues. 'It was the feeling of being tortured by the authorities who should be protecting me that made me put myself forward as a candidate,' said Quiroa. Yet as far as Quiroa knows, she is the only candidate to have emerged from the many thousands searching for their relatives. 'I'd have liked there to be more – and more victims of all kinds who are lawyers and human rights defenders,' said Quiroa. 'But many people said they didn't want to be part of the destruction of the judicial system.' Quiroa shares their anxiety. 'This is an experiment,' she said. 'And we don't know how it's going to go.'
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Cartel member who oversaw security for El Chapo's sons is killed in shootout with Mexican military
A high-ranking leader Sinaloa Cartel leader who was responsible for the security detail of Joaquín ' El Chapo ' Guzmán's sons was killed in a gun battle with the Mexican military. Jorge 'El Perris' Figueroa was shot dead Friday during a raid at a home in Novolato, a city in the western state of Sinaloa, public safety secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch revealed in an X post. Garcia Harfuch said that a unit of Army soldiers were on the scene to arrest Figueroa when they were greeted with gunfire. Video footage recorded by residents showed military helicopters flying over the area and a soldier lying on the ground and firing at a target. A photo leaked on social media showed Figueroa's lifeless body covered in blood and lying on top of a bed in his home. A member of Figueroa's team, José 'El Chema' Pérez, was also killed the shootout. Renown crime journalist Carlos Jímenez reported that Pérez had been removed from the Mexico City police after he was photographed in January 2021 meeting with Vicente Rodríguez, who at the time was one of the capital's most wanted drug traffickers. Figueroa was described as 'one of the main generators of violence' in the state of Sinaloa was accused of leading the cartel's war-like response in the Sinaloa town of Culiacán against the military and police following the arrest of El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzmán, in October 2019. The daylight assault left 13 people dead before then- President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador greenlighted Ovidio's release despite an extradition request from the United States. Figueroa was wanted by the United States government, which was offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction. According to the Department of Justice, Figueroa was allegedly in charge of setting up the security details for 'Los Chapitos,' a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by El Chapo's fugitive sons, Ivan Guzmán and Jesús Guzmán. Figueroa shared cartel security duties with Nestor 'El Nini' Pérez - who was arrested and extradited to the U.S. on May 25, 2024 - and also oversaw his security and was in charge of coordinating Pérez's fentanyl business. Figueroa and other Sinaloa Cartel members were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York in April 2023. They were charged with conspiracy to import and traffic fentanyl, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering. Figueroa's death comes three weeks after Ovidio's mother and El Chapo's former wife, his sister and brother-in-law and 14 other family members allegedly presented themselves to federal agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The meeting took place three days after Ovidio entered a change of plea in an Illinois federal court. Video footage showed multiple adults and children holding their luggage as they allegedly met with the FBI - which would be the latest sign that the jailed notorious drug lord's son has flipped on the transnational drug trafficking organization.
The Sun
26-05-2025
- The Sun
I infiltrate world's deadliest gangs – I was held at gunpoint & forced to take drug but mob boss confession left me cold
MOST professors stick to books rather than hanging out with gun-wielding gangsters - but Bertrand Monnet has got close to the deadly Sinaloa Cartel in a way few ever have. For the past 13 years, his fieldwork has taken him deep into Latin America's criminal underworld - interviewing crime bosses, visiting drug labs and even more chillingly, having guns pointed at him and being held hostage. 13 13 13 Speaking to The Sun, Monnet, who is a professor of economic crime at EDHEC Business School in Lille, says: "I think you are not a trustworthy professor if you don't try and meet these people, before teaching the dangers of this economy to your students." He travels numerous times a year to Culiacán, the capital city of Sinaloa, and Mexico City - a place where the bloodthirsty cartel is well established. 'I meet about ten people regularly - these people are, let's say, top managers of major clans of the cartel," he says. But he is careful to be on guard at all times, as he says: 'They are business extremists. They are ready to kill anybody for one dollar. "If there are innocent victims, this is not an issue at all for them. "You know, five days ago, I was in Mexico interviewing one of the middle managers of a cartel clan. "I asked him the question, 'How many people did you kill?' And he told me, 'Oh, I don't really remember, but I think about 20, something like that'." World's deadliest gangs Known for its brutal tactics and corruption of government officials, the Sinaloa Cartel is considered the largest and most powerful gang for drug trafficking, money laundering and organised crime across Latin America. And if a rival should cross them, its fighters are ready to carry out brutal revenge attacks like shootings, kidnappings and dismemberments. Inside Mexico's 'Schools of Terror' where Cartel recruits eat human flesh The gang, headed up by caged kingpin El Chapo and his sons, has grown so strong that last year they took on the country's army after a series of arrests, setting fire to buses to ambush soldiers and start deadly firefights with patrols. Its leader El Chapo, who is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in the US, is said to be so sadistic that he once ordered a man to be killed for "not shaking his hand". He has also ordered hits on his own family and uses gold AK47s to terrify his rivals. With such a bloody reputation, many would steer clear of areas where the Sinaloa Cartel operates. But not Bertrand. He likes to take a more practical approach to learning. To gain access to cartel members and film the balaclava-clad men, along with their criminal activities, Monnet says it took him years to "build trust", stressing that he's "very cautious". He explains: 'When you have contacts inside one cartel, you have to stay with them and try not to diversify your contacts because they are enemies. 'So they would consider you a betrayer or an informer.' It may seem hard to grasp how he manages to film drug cartels without crossing the line into complicity, morally or legally. But the Frenchman insists that he is not friends with these members, claiming: "It's impossible to be friends with these people, because we don't have the same mindset." Legally, he says he's neither involved in any criminal activity nor finding out information that would be useful to authorities, explaining: "I'm not discovering anything the police or intelligence do not already know." While his fieldwork has led to the production of numerous investigative documentaries ranging from Mexico to Nigeria, he sees himself first and foremost as an academic - or in his own words, a 'prof'. 13 13 13 13 Despite desperately trying to stay out of trouble, he says one visit to the depths of the cartel's dark underworld almost turned deadly. Bertrand and his driver once had a gun pointed at them in Sinaloa, after having been threatened by a rival clan within the cartel. They had taken a wrong turn after cartel instructions forced them to disable their phones and GPS to avoid government tracking. Unknowingly, they had entered another clan's village. He says: "There are several clans inside the cartel. You have to stay on the territory of a clan of the cartel. "And maybe just two kilometres away, you could end up on the territory of another clan." In another harrowing experience, Monnet was kidnapped in Sao Paulo, Brazil, by the PCC, the Primeiro Comando da Capital, back in 2016. The PCC is Brazil's biggest and largest criminal network, carrying out bank heists, brutal killings and prison riots. His fixer had entered their territory without proper clearance, raising suspicion that he might be an undercover cop. He was kept in jail for 12 hours, where he was beaten up, had a gun held to his head and even forced to snort cocaine. The nightmare came to an end when a more senior member, who held the position of judge, checked him out with corrupt officials and police, and realised he was not a cop. He then received a WhatsApp message from the "judge" two weeks later when he was back in France and on his way to a class. He booked a flight back to interview that man and now regularly sees him on trips in Brazil. When asked if he feels afraid, the Frenchman replies with a shrug: 'Not really.' If one has time and complies with their agenda, he says, there is little risk involved. But he acknowledges the uncertainty of gaining access to high-level cartel members and drug labs, describing it as a process of constant "failure". "Some of the people I met years ago have been killed - some of them can be arrested or they can change their mind, or disappear." Monnet's fieldwork extends further than Latin America, as he has also spent many months with pirates in Somalia and Nigeria. Caught in the crossfire It comes as violent drug gangs move into tourist resorts to capitalise on "drug tourism" - particularly in places now popular with Brits such as Mexico. The Sun recently revealed how murderous gangsters have been creeping out of the Mexican barrios, or neighbourhoods, and closer to the tourist enclaves. Tourists have borne witness to assassins executing their rivals and even gunning down holidaymakers. The state where many popular holiday destinations are located, Quintana Roo, has seen an unbelievable 633 murders last year. Bretrand points to two key regions where the Sinaloa Cartel has expanded its presence for logistical reasons. The first is along the US border, in cities like Ciudad Juárez and Mexicali - key hubs for moving drugs into the US. The second is tourist destinations like Cancún, where cartels launder drug money, masking the illicit cash from sales with profits from businesses in the tourism sector. What is the Sinaloa Cartel? Image credit: Reuters The Sinaloa Cartel is named after the Mexican state in the northwest of the country where it was formed in the late 1980s That state is home to marijuana and poppy crops The cartel is known for trafficking fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana, according to the DEA The cartel was formerly led by El Chapo Guzman, who famously escaped from Mexican prisons twice - first in 2001, by reportedly hiding in a laundry basket, and second, in 2015 through a tunnel He was detained again in 2016 and extradited to the US the following year, where he is serving a life sentence Two leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel were arrested by US authorities in July 2024: Joaquin Guzman Lopez, El Chapo's son, and Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, the cartel's co-founder along with El Chapo Guzman Lopez organised their arrest, by tricking El Mayo into taking a flight with him Los Chapitos' alleged treason has led to an open conflict with the El Mayo faction He explains: "What they do is they mix the criminal cash into the cash flow of these legitimate companies. "Touristic complexes are typically the vehicle they need. "Because hotels, private beaches, clubs and other businesses are legitimate to have a massive use of cash, and especially in big 'washing machines' like the ones in Cancun." With a serious expression, he adds: 'And where do they invest this money? In so many companies across the world." This fuels fierce competition in Mexico, as cartels battle for control of tourist hotspots - not only to launder money, but also to sell to tourists their drugs and sex through criminal prostitution. Cartels, he says, are 'criminal multinational companies with huge revenues". Given their control, he's "not surprised" that tourists have been caught in the crossfire in shootings between rival cartels over the years. He says: "When they use violence, it's always very intense. "They have to first kill their enemies and then they have to terrify others.' While tourists are not typically targeted by cartels, in a country with a homicide rate of around 25,000 per year - the majority of which are linked to organised crime - it's not unheard of for holidaymakers to witness or even fall victim to cartel-related violence. The UK government currently advises tourists to "be very cautious after dark in downtown areas of Cancún, Tulum and Playa del Carmen". He says: "Tourists have to understand the reality of the country." He urges Brits to check trusted sources like the British consulate or Foreign Office before and during their trip. He also advises asking hotel staff about which spots are safe to visit. While kidnappings mostly target locals, "cartels are very opportunistic' and on the lookout to "diversify their businesses", so tourists should stay alert. He warns against using private, unregistered taxis or 'fake Ubers'. He also stresses: 'Don't consume drugs," both for the health risk and because "it's important not to fuel this economy as a consumer". 13 13 Drug wars US government figures claim Mexico's big cartels are raking in an estimated $20-30billion (£16-24billion) a year in profits. The main drug trafficked into the US from Mexico is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug, which scientists say is 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. And trafficked fentanyl is also mixed in with other drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine to increase its potency. Dubbed "the silent killer drug", fentanyl kills around 100,000 people in the US each year. Trump 's return to the US presidency in January ramped up the pressure on cartels. He even threatened a 25 per cent tariff on Mexican goods unless drugs - especially fentanyl - and migrants stopped entering. Monnet produced three documentaries last year with the French newspaper Le Monde, which analysed the economy of fentanyl. He says it took him two and a half years to gain access to drug labs in Mexico to film the full chain - from the production of the blue M30 pills in Culiacán and their transport to the US to their retail in New York. He always asks for permission before filming and has a good track record of not causing problems. "No identity has been shared in my documentaries and nobody has been arrested after the broadcast - so I'm trustworthy, they know that," he says. In the documentary, a cartel member reveals the pills cost 70 cents each to produce but are sold for $5-$10 (£4-8) in New York. There is also mention of the cartel expanding into Europe, where the pills can reportedly snag up to $15 (£11) each. Speaking to The Sun about these backstreet labs, Monnet says: "The reality is not sexy. These laboratories are not big manufacturers. "There are small places hidden somewhere in the mountains, in the jungle or downtown." In response to Trump's tariff threats, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum launched a crackdown on cartels, sending 10,000 National Guard troops to the border and hundreds more soldiers to Sinaloa state. 13 13 By February 27, nearly 30 suspected cartel figures were handed over to the US. In early May, Sheinbaum said that Trump had proposed sending US troops to Mexico to combat drug trafficking - but she rejected the offer, as "sovereignty is not for sale". Monnet says: "I think President Sheinbaum is absolutely legitimate to refuse an external intervention by the US on Mexican territory." He also argues such military strategies are ineffective. "The only way to challenge these criminal organisations is by economic strategies," he says, "because they have to understand that they are, unfortunately, not criminal armies, but criminal companies. "If they understand the nature of their enemy, maybe it will be easier for them to try and tackle it." He acknowledges the Mexican president's efforts, saying: "The government of Mrs Sheinbaum has adopted a very good strategy: they have upgraded the resources of the state's forces, the police, the intelligence and so on, to try and fight against the cartels. "But it's not sufficient, of course, because they [cartels] have billions of dollars." Monnet explains that cartels invest in anything under the sun, from businesses across the US (with authorities in the know) to cryptocurrency. The Sinaloa Cartel has been found to have laundered more than $869,000 using cryptocurrency in just over six months between 2022 and 2023, according to a US indictment unsealed last year. The professor says: "One guy told me, 'If there was a profitable business on the moon, I would invest in the moon'." He adds: "They are opportunistic, dynamic and unfortunately intelligent." This broad economic footprint, he says, complicates efforts to dismantle their networks. Monnet says: "The only way [to combat them] is to maximise the presence of the state, and somehow try and replace these criminal investments by legal investments - not done by the state, but by legal companies. "But of course, these companies, most of the time, are reluctant to invest in territories controlled by the cartels, so they have to be supported by the state." What is the Mexican Drug War? Mexico is grappling with an ongoing conflict between drug cartels, the Mexican and US governments, along with their law enforcement agencies The drug war began in the 1980s, when Mexico became a key transit point for cocaine and other drugs being smuggled to the US In the 1980s, drug cartels like the Gulf Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel started gaining power In the 1990s, competition grew between cartels, leading to greater violence In the early 2000s, powerful criminal organisations, like the Sinaloa, Gulf and Zetas cartels, fought for control of drug trafficking routes and markets In 2006, President Felipe Calderón launched an all-out war on drug cartels, deploying the military to fight them - this is seen as a major turning point, sparking a surge in cartel violence In 2010, the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas Cartel became the dominant forces, leading to brutal turf wars By the 2010s, the murder rate in Mexico soared, with tens of thousands of deaths related to the drug war In 2014, 43 college students were kidnapped and likely killed in Guerrero, reportedly due to collusion between police and drug gangs In 2016, El Chapo Guzmán, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was captured after escaping prison twice In 2024, top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, including the son of El Chapo, were arrested by US authorities Today, Mexico's drug war continues with reported violence, more cartels and civilian casualties
CNN
25-05-2025
- CNN
Key cartel member with $1 million US bounty on his head is killed, says Mexican government
Jorge Humberto Figueroa Benítez, identified by the United States government as a key member of the 'Los Chapitos' criminal organization, died during an operation aimed at capturing him in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the country's Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch said Saturday. The operation against Figueroa Benitez, known by the nickname 'El Perris,' took place in Navolato, 32 kilometers (19 miles) from Culiacán, the state's capital, according to local media. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was offering up to $1 million for Figueroa Benitez, who was wanted for alleged federal crimes, including conspiracy to import and traffic fentanyl, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and money laundering conspiracy. In 2019, the city of Culiacán was the scene of a violent episode known as the 'Culiacanazo,' which involved violent armed clashes following the temporary capture of Ovidio Guzmán Lopez, one of the sons of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. Ovidio was later released by Mexican authorities, arguing that it was to 'save lives.' After being extradited to the US in 2023, Ovidio Guzmán pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, although now, according to court documents reviewed by CNN, he is expected to change that plea. In early May, a US government source told CNN that several of his relatives crossed the border from Mexico into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry, reportedly as part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice. CNN does not know the whereabouts of these people or whether they entered any witness protection program. CNN has requested comment from US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Justice.
CNN
25-05-2025
- CNN
Key cartel member with $1 million US bounty on his head is killed, says Mexican government
Jorge Humberto Figueroa Benítez, identified by the United States government as a key member of the 'Los Chapitos' criminal organization, died during an operation aimed at capturing him in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the country's Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch said Saturday. The operation against Figueroa Benitez, known by the nickname 'El Perris,' took place in Navolato, 32 kilometers (19 miles) from Culiacán, the state's capital, according to local media. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was offering up to $1 million for Figueroa Benitez, who was wanted for alleged federal crimes, including conspiracy to import and traffic fentanyl, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and money laundering conspiracy. In 2019, the city of Culiacán was the scene of a violent episode known as the 'Culiacanazo,' which involved violent armed clashes following the temporary capture of Ovidio Guzmán Lopez, one of the sons of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. Ovidio was later released by Mexican authorities, arguing that it was to 'save lives.' After being extradited to the US in 2023, Ovidio Guzmán pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, although now, according to court documents reviewed by CNN, he is expected to change that plea. In early May, a US government source told CNN that several of his relatives crossed the border from Mexico into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry, reportedly as part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice. CNN does not know the whereabouts of these people or whether they entered any witness protection program. CNN has requested comment from US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Justice.
