In a confrontation between military personnel and armed civilians, Edwin Antonio Rubio López, known as "El Max" or "El Oso", was arrested, identified as an alleged leader of a criminal cell and supposed operator of "El Mayo" Zambada in Sinaloa. Rubio López is considered one of the priority targets of military intelligence due to his active involvement in organized crime and drug trafficking. The Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) confirmed the arrest, which took place on Monday, October 21, during a confrontation in the Sanalona syndicate, located about 30 kilometers east of Culiacán.
The events occurred in the community of Plan de Oriente, also known as La Doce and Carrizalejo, near the road leading to Sanalona. The Army had the support of an armed helicopter that fired from the air at the civilians who were sheltered among the weeds. According to preliminary information, at least 10 to 12 civilians lost their lives in the confrontation, but no military personnel were reported injured.
Regarding Edwin Antonio Rubio López, alias "El Max" or "El Oso", he is identified as one of the priority targets in Mexico according to military intelligence. Leader of a criminal cell, he had an arrest warrant since 2019. He is accused of trafficking drugs from Culiacán to San Felipe, and then sending them to the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. It is worth mentioning that "El Mayo" Zambada was arrested on July 25 in New Mexico after landing on a plane accompanied by Joaquín Guzmán López, son of "El Chapo". Zambada pleaded not guilty to the 17 charges brought against him by U.S. justice, including continuing criminal enterprise, murder, and trafficking of firearms and drugs, especially fentanyl, a powerful narcotic responsible for numerous overdose deaths in the United States.
