According to the news outlet “Código Magenta“, the Army has entered fully into the armed conflict in Sinaloa. On Tuesday, October 22, military officers killed 19 civilians in the rural community of Plan de Oriente who were part of the escort of Edwin Antonio Rubio López, alias ‘El Max’ or ‘El Oso’, a mid-level lieutenant of the criminal faction of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada.
This is the bloodiest confrontation since the civil war of the Sinaloa Cartel between the factions of ‘Los Chapitos’ and ‘Los Mayitos’ began 45 days ago. Until now, the Army had favored a strategy of containment and surgical arrests of criminal leaders, particularly leaders related to Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, leader of ‘Los Chapitos’. According to a person close to the Armed Forces, the generals in charge of Sinaloa maintained the order to only repel aggressions and not to initiate armed confrontations with paramilitary groups.
The Army operation against Rubio López broke with this policy. The Armed Forces faced a paramilitary group of 30 people who had long weapons and a model of Barret rifle that is used by the United States Army.
In Mexico, statistics indicate that incidents in which there are disproportionately disparate numbers of civilian and military casualties are associated with events of extrajudicial executions. The Ministry of National Defense reported that “in this event, the military personnel acted in strict adherence to the rule of law and with full respect for human rights and the National Law on the Use of Force.”
Rubio López was arrested in the operation. Intelligence authorities point to him as one of the main generators of violence in Culiacán, a territory controlled by the criminal faction of ‘Los Chapitos’. The arrest took place in the rural community also known as ‘El Doce’, located 11 kilometers from the capital of Sinaloa.
After Rubio López was arrested, a small plane scattered leaflets in Culiacán signed by the group ‘La Mayiza’ in which alleged collusion between the governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha, and the faction of ‘Los Chapitos’ was denounced.
The Army has deployed nearly 2,000 military personnel in Sinaloa. This includes more than 300 special forces soldiers. The armed conflict in the state has left at least 260 murders, 301 disappearances, 392 stolen vehicles, and 72 people arrested.
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