Mexican Army Kills 13 Gunmen During Shootout in Sinaloa

Authorities in Mexico confirmed a large-scale shootout in the hyperviolent western state of Sinaloa, where 13 gunmen died while trying to ambush a squad of Mexican soldiers. In the aftermath of the clash, authorities also reported rescuing nine kidnapping victims.

The clash took place on Monday shortly after 12:45 p.m. when a convoy of Mexican soldiers was traveling near the city of Guasave. When they came up to a highway underpass, a group of gunmen tried to ambush the soldiers, said Mexico’s top security official Omar Garcia Harfuch in a social media post.

Mexican military forces fought off the attack, killing 13 gunmen, and then began a series of search operations in an attempt to track down the rest of the gunmen. During those operations, authorities arrested four other gunmen and rescued nine kidnapping victims.

Mexican authorities did not reveal which cartel the gunmen belong to. However, the region is home to the Sinaloa Cartel, which has been waging a fierce internal turf war between its two main factions, the Mayos and the Chapitos. As Breitbart Texas reported, the war started more than a year ago after the leaders of Los Chapitos called a meeting with Sinaloa Cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, only to capture him and fly him to Texas. Since then, Zambada has pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court and is facing a life term in prison.

El Mayo’s arrest turned his family against their former allies, Los Chapitos, setting off a fierce turf war that has led to thousands of murders, forced disappearances, and numerous large-scale shootouts, which have terrorized the residents of western Mexico.

The shootout in Guasave comes at a time when Mexico’s government has been widely criticized for its ineffectiveness in containing cartel violence, as well as widespread allegations of cartel connections surrounding the top members of Mexico’s ruling political party.