CULIACAN — Mexico’s army deployed more than 4,000 troops to take direct control of Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, on Tuesday after a state judge ordered the release from prison of the Chapitos brothers — the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman — effectively handing operational control of the Sinaloa Cartel to them from their cell. The government immediately appealed the ruling and said it would not recognize any order that “undermines national security.”
The Chapitos — Oscar, Ivan, and Ricardo Guzman — had been held in Altiplano maximum security prison outside Mexico City since their 2023 extradition from U.S. custody. Tuesday’s ruling found procedural violations in their transfer documents and ordered their immediate release. Within hours, Sinaloa’s state government declared a security emergency and formally requested military takeover of all municipal police functions. Twelve people were killed in overnight clashes as cartel-affiliated groups moved to consolidate territory and assert control over key corridors.
President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the ruling in a nationally televised address, calling it “an assault on Mexican sovereignty and the rule of law” and pledged her government would not honor the release order. She said the attorney general’s office had filed an emergency injunction and urged the Supreme Court to intervene. The U.S. State Department issued an emergency Level 4 travel advisory — its highest — for all of Sinaloa state, and offered a combined $10 million reward for information leading to the re-arrest of the three brothers.
The Chapitos each face multiple federal drug trafficking charges in the United States, where they are designated as specially designated narcotics traffickers. Their release would represent a significant escalation in cross-border cartel violence, according to DEA officials who requested anonymity ahead of a formal briefing. Analysts say the brothers had been operating the cartel’s fentanyl supply network from inside prison using mobile phones smuggled in by guards.
Written by Sarah Mitchell, Chief Opinion Columnist
