Sinaloa is experiencing a surge in violent crime as a direct result of the realignment of forces within the Sinaloa Cartel and the recent strengthening of one of its factions, security consultant David Saucedo warned.
During an interview with 'Aristegui en Vivo', he noted that the increase in violence is linked to the support that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) agreed to provide to the 'Los Chapitos' group about a year ago, by moving men, weapons, and ammunition to confront the group led by Ismael Zambada Sicairos, alias 'El Mayito Flaco', son of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada.
Nevertheless, in recent months, a change in the conflict's dynamics has been observed. Violence is no longer concentrated solely in Culiacán and Mazatlán but has spread to other regions of the state, particularly southern Sinaloa, indicating a counteroffensive by 'Los Chapitos' against the 'El Mayo Zambada' group.
Saucedo stated that, according to assessments by the U.S. and Mexican governments, the Zambada group initially held the advantage in this internal war, but the arrival of reinforcements allowed 'Los Chapitos' to attempt to reclaim previously lost territories.
He emphasized that both the Mexican and U.S. governments have influenced the conflict by focusing arrests, seizures, extraditions, and captures primarily on members of 'Los Chapitos', suggesting a specific interest in weakening that faction.
Regarding the kidnapping of ten engineers and technicians from a Canadian mining company, Saucedo explained that Canadian mining companies have maintained two types of connections with organized crime groups in Mexico for years.
In many cases, they pay the so-called 'floor tax' to operate; in others, they hire criminal groups to contain social protests, environmental movements, or media pressure.
At the same time, he stressed that the kidnapped workers had no relation to the companies' decisions.
He also mentioned that in the U.S., there were old lawsuits accusing Trump of receiving illicit funds from criminal groups, allegations that did not prosper judicially.
In this context, he affirmed that the Epstein case provides new elements to a previous narrative about possible links between sectors of the drug trade and figures of the U.S. political-business elite, a lead that, he said, never managed to hold up legally but is now back in the public debate.
Saucedo also recalled that a similar dispute occurred at other power centers in the state, such as the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS), where the capture of Mario Zambada took place in the context of a presumed negotiation for the rectorship.
Finally, on the documents that allegedly link U.S. President Donald Trump to parties organized by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, in which members of the Sinaloa Cartel may have participated, Saucedo stated that these versions are consistent with the public record of the official.
He recalled that Epstein maintained connections with Mexican drug trafficking elites and that these spaces served as contact points between business and criminal elites, even for money laundering.
'The Jalisco Cartel had been stinting, bargaining, delivering support to the Chapitos group bit by bit,' he pointed out.
He pointed out that the main beneficiary of this internal confrontation has been Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias 'El Mencho', leader of the CJNG.
Although he clarified that while this version is not fully confirmed, it is the line of analysis that the authorities are following.
'The support from the Jalisco Cartel did not materialize fully due to the multiple conflict fronts it maintains in various entities of the country,' he added.
