Cartel violence in Sinaloa, Mexico, leaves 20 dead, including 4
decapitated bodies
[July 01, 2025]
By MEGAN JANETSKY
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Four decapitated bodies were found hanging from a
bridge in the capital of western Mexico's Sinaloa state on Monday, part
of a surge of cartel violence that killed 20 people in less than a day,
authorities said.
A bloody war for control between two factions of the powerful Sinaloa
Cartel has turned the city of Culiacan into an epicenter of cartel
violence since the conflict exploded last year between the two groups:
Los Chapitos and La Mayiza.
Dead bodies appear scattered across Culiacán on a daily basis, homes are
riddled with bullets, businesses shutter and schools regularly close
down during waves of violence. Masked young men on motorcycles watch
over the main avenues of the city.
On Monday, Sinaloa state prosecutors said that four bodies were found
dangling from the freeway bridge leading out of the city, their heads in
a nearby plastic bag.
On the same highway Monday, officials said they found 16 more male
victims with gunshot wounds, packed into a white van, one of whom was
decapitated. Authorities said the bodies were left with a note,
apparently from one of the cartel factions, though the note's contents
were not immediately disclosed.
Feliciano Castro, Sinaloa government spokesperson, condemned the violent
killings on Monday and said authorities needed to examine their strategy
for tackling organized crime with the “magnitude” of the violence seen.
“Military and police forces are working together to reestablish total
peace in Sinaloa,” Castro said.
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National Guards patrol the streets in Culiacan, Sinaloa state,
Mexico, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo)
Most in the western Mexico state, however, say authorities have lost
control of the violence levels.
A bloody power struggle erupted in September last year between two
rival factions, pushing the city to a standstill.
The war for territorial control was triggered by the dramatic
kidnapping of the leader of one of the groups by a son of notorious
capo Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán who then delivered him to U.S.
authorities via a private plane.
Since then, intense fighting between the heavily armed factions has
become the new normal for civilians in Culiacan, a city which for
years avoided the worst of Mexico’s violence in large part because
the Sinaloa Cartel maintained such complete control.
In southeast Mexico on Monday, a priest was shot leaving his home in
Villahermosa, Tabasco. The Tabasco Diocese said in a statement that
Rev. Héctor Alejandro Pérez had been on his way to visit someone who
was ill when he was shot. The diocese said Pérez lost a lot of blood
and had internal injuries putting him in “very serious” condition.
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