Cartel Carnage Ravages Mexico as El Chapo’s Sons Battle for Bloodied Turf

According to a recent report by the Daily Mail, the streets of Culiacán, capital of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, have once again been gripped by cartel violence. On Monday, authorities discovered four decapitated bodies hanging from a bridge, with their heads stuffed in a nearby plastic bag.

Hours later, sixteen more bullet-riddled bodies were found crammed into a white van along the same highway, one of them also decapitated.

A note left near the scene read, “WELCOME TO THE NEW SINALOA,” though the rest of the message was nearly incoherent.

This gruesome display is only the latest chapter in a brutal war between factions of the once-unified Sinaloa Cartel.

As reported by the New York Times, the violence stems from an internal struggle between Los Chapitos (led by the sons of the notorious Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán) and a rival faction called La Mayiza.

The younger Guzmáns have reportedly grown so desperate in their attempt to seize total control that they’ve allied with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a longtime enemy.

Culiacán has become a war zone. Daily gunfire, torched homes, shuttered businesses, and masked gunmen patrolling on motorcycles have become the new normal.

Schools are frequently closed, and civilians live in fear as the streets run red with the consequences of this bloody feud.

“Military and police forces are working together to reestablish total peace in Sinaloa,” said government spokesman Feliciano Castro, though many locals believe the state has already lost control.

The power struggle reportedly began in September when a son of El Chapo kidnapped the leader of the rival faction and handed him over to U.S. authorities.

That bold move ignited a fierce turf war, and it hasn’t let up since.

One high-ranking cartel member told the press that Los Chapitos were “gasping for air” financially, and their desperation is evident in their willingness to trade territory for cash and firepower.

“Imagine how many millions you burn through in a war every day,” he said. “The pressure mounted little by little.”

The violence in Sinaloa has far-reaching implications. Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution told the New York Times, “It’s like if the eastern coast of the U.S. seceded during the Cold War and reached out to the Soviet Union.” The stakes are not just regional—they are global.

This is not an isolated event. Just weeks ago, Law Enforcement Today reported that Jorge Humberto Figueroa Benítez, a high-ranking Los Chapitos enforcer known as “El Perris,” was killed during a military operation near Culiacán.

The U.S. government had been offering a $1 million reward for his capture due to his role in trafficking fentanyl and orchestrating violent attacks on law enforcement.

His death was seen as a blow to Los Chapitos, but clearly not one strong enough to end the bloodshed.

Meanwhile, revelations continue to surface about secret deals between the U.S. government and cartel leaders.

Seventeen family members of El Chapo’s sons were recently allowed to cross into California, apparently as part of a deal brokered with the Trump administration.

Among those granted entry were Guzmán’s former wife and daughter.

While none of the family members were being pursued by Mexican authorities, questions remain about what was traded for their safe passage.

The Chapitos’ cartel operations, as outlined in a 2023 U.S. Department of Justice indictment, include horrifying forms of torture, such as the use of corkscrews and electrocution. Some victims were reportedly fed, both dead and alive, to tigers.

This wave of violence, corruption, and backdoor agreements paints a disturbing picture.

And unless we take steps to secure our own borders and thoroughly vet those entering the United States, there’s no reason to believe this chaos will remain south of the border.

These are not just abstract dangers; these are people capable of unspeakable crimes.

If we don’t take border security seriously, the same kind of killers who leave headless bodies dangling from bridges in Mexico could very well be setting foot in American neighborhoods tomorrow.