Two cartel-controlled states in Mexico cancelled their Independence Day celebrations on Monday in several of their communities over concerns of cartel attacks and violence. The cancellations come at a time when the U.S. government has labelled six Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
The most dramatic cancellation took place in Culiacan, Sinaloa, the stronghold of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, where Governor Ruben Rocha Moya announced on social media. In Mexico, federal, state, and local governments celebrate on September 15, where they celebrate the call to arms that began the country’s independence movement.
As Breitbart Texas reported, for over a year, Sinaloa has seen historic levels of violence as two of the leading factions have been waging a fierce turf war. The turf war is tied to the arrest of top kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada by members of the Chapitos faction, who then flew him to Texas and turned him over to U.S. authorities. The Chapitos are led by the sons of jailed kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Initially, the State of Sinaloa had announced a series of celebrations and concerts with prominent Mexican musicians. Due to the widespread attacks, killings, and abductions carried out by cartel gunmen, Rocha Moya announced that the only event to be held would be a daytime ceremony and no subsequent celebrations.
Similarly, five municipalities in the state of Michoacan canceled their celebrations. As Breitbart Texas reported, for years, Michoacan has been a hotspot of violence as several criminal organizations tied to Carteles Unidos and La Familia Michoacana have been fighting for control of drug production and trafficking areas in Mexico. Michoacan has been at the forefront of the development of terror-style tactics by cartels, including the use of improvised explosive devices, land mines, and the use of drones to drop explosives.
While Morelia, the capital of Michoacan, did hold a celebration, that city saw a terror-style attack in 2008, when cartel gunmen threw grenades into the crowd during the Independence Day celebrations that year.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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