Mexico, ''Dracula'' Arrested in Escuinapa: Sinaloa Epicenter of Drug Conflict
Luke Gross December 30, 2024
In an operation conducted in the municipality of Escuinapa, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, security forces arrested Juan Manuel Bernal Hernández , known as "Dracula", identified as the leader of a criminal cell linked to the "Chapitos" faction of the cartel founded by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada . Four other people were arrested along with Bernal, and weapons, narcotics and a property were seized. Authorities said Bernal Hernández was involved in drug trafficking, arms, ammunition and tactical equipment.
Faced with growing pressure from drug cartels in the state of Sinaloa, the federal government has ordered the deployment of more than 200 elite elements of the Mexican Army's Special Forces. The secretary general of the local government, Feliciano Castro Meléndrez , explained that the operation is part of an " adjustment of the security strategy ". " The Special Forces units are characterized by speed, mobility, deployment and reaction capacity, which allow them to effectively exploit intelligence products. They have a wide range of weapons, materials, equipment, aircraft and specialized training to operate in any geographical context ," the Army said in an official statement.
The deployment of troops is part of a strategy to counter the bloody war between the two factions of the Sinaloa cartel: on one side the "Chapitos", led by the sons of El Chapo Guzmán , and on the other the "Mayitos", loyal to Ismael El Mayo Zambada .
Since last September, when the conflict broke out in Culiacán, the state capital, 671 people have officially been killed in the clashes and 695 people have disappeared. However, according to the complaints of the mothers of the disappeared, interviewed by the Mexican newspaper Milenio, the missing could exceed 800.
The conflict started in August, when Ismael El Mayo Zambada , through his lawyer, released a letter in which he accused Joaquín Guzmán López , one of El Chapo's sons, of betraying him and transferring him against his will to El Paso, Texas. Since then, the war between the "Mayitos" and the "Chapitos" has intensified, involving not only the State of Sinaloa, but also those of Durango, Nayarit and Sonora, for control of the territory and drug trafficking.