GUATEMALA CITY — Mexico declared a security emergency in three northern states Friday after the Sinaloa Cartel seized control of municipal buildings in Culiacán and two border cities, trapping local police inside their own precincts for the second time in a month.
Fedral forces deployed 4,500 troops to Sinaloa, Chihuahua and Durango after cartel gunmen stormed city halls, set fire to vehicles on main highways and posted armed checkpoints — footage shared widely on social media showed masked men directing traffic at the entrance to Culiacán’s main square. At least nine people were killed and 23 wounded in clashes overnight.
President Claudia Sheinbaum called the takeover “an act of sovereign defiance” and authorized the military to use “all necessary force” to retake public buildings. The State Department issued a travel advisory urging US citizens to avoid the three states.
Written by Diego Vargas, Latin America Correspondent
Written by Diego Vargas