A group of armed men stormed into a drug rehab facility in the city of Culiacán, Mexico, at around 2:00 in the morning on April 7, and rounded up the 20 or so individuals living there.

The director of the center, which is located on a quiet residential street near a scenic overlook and a Catholic church, tried to reason with them. “We are people of God,” he pleaded. It did not matter. The attackers opened fire, executing eight of those present and injuring another who later died at a nearby hospital.

One of the survivors said that many more would have been killed had the weapons used by the assailants not jammed. They eventually fled and forced the director out with them. Local authorities found his body the following day, dumped in another neighborhood on the south side of Culiacán.

Mexican officials alleged the attackers belonged to the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, which is run by several sons of former boss Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” who is now serving a life sentence in the United States. They were reportedly looking for a rival affiliated with the Mayiza, another cell run by the son of another storied member, Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo,” who is also now in custody in the United States.

The indiscriminate attack was just the latest outburst of violence in a war between the two sides. It was sparked by the controversial July 2024 capture of El Mayo, which his faction claimed was a set-up orchestrated by the Chapitos.

As a result, a new set of rules is shaping this internal conflict, which has primarily centered on Culiacán, the historic base of the group. Since the fighting began on September 9, 2024, well over 1,000 people have been killed and thousands more disappeared.

SEE ALSO: A Cold War Is Raging Inside the Sinaloa Cartel Following El Mayo’s Capture

The Sinaloa Cartel has suffered many schisms in the past, first in 2008 with their former allies in the Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO), and later in 2017 in the lead-up to the arrest of Dámaso López Núñez, alias “Licenciado.” But experts told InSight Crime that none has had such a profound impact on the group as the one raging right now.

A Protracted, Personal Conflict

Many locals and security experts consulted by InSight Crime attribute the sustained violence in Culiacán to the personal nature of the conflict. Members on both sides grew up alongside each other within the ranks of the Sinaloa Cartel. But the sense of betrayal felt after El Mayo was lured to his capture provoked what some sources called an “extermination campaign” that may not end until the other side has been eradicated.

What’s more, the two factions previously divided control of Culiacán in a mutually agreed upon arrangement. The Chapitos largely managed the north of the city, and the Mayiza maintained a strong presence in the south. This means both sides know the key operational points of their rivals, allowing them to target the other with increased precision and frequency.

While prior Sinaloa Cartel conflicts have lasted several years, the daily intensity and relentlessness of the current conflict is unlike anything seen in the state’s criminal history.

“It’s unprecedented,” said Óscar Loza Ochoa, president of the Sinaloa state human rights commission (Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos – CEDH). “No prior conflict has ever lasted this long or had such a profound economic impact.”

In Culiacán, the last seven months have been marked by constant, extreme violence. The same week as the mass killing at the rehab center, authorities also found the body of a woman who was forcibly disappeared in March, responded to the killing of two lawyers, recorded the abduction of two workers at another rehab center, and logged at least 15 violent carjackings.

A Rural Battleground Goes Urban

The new generation of so-called “narco juniors” at the center of the current Sinaloa Cartel war has brought it to a new battleground. Urban city centers like Culiacán have largely replaced the rural countryside, where the group got its start managing marijuana and poppy plantations.

Unlike infamous leaders like El Chapo, who grew up among campesinos in the mountains, this new cohort had very privileged childhoods. For Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of El Chapo who was captured in early 2023 after a failed security operation in 2019, this included stints at expensive private schools in Mexico City.

SEE ALSO: As Marijuana Fades, Sinaloa’s Organized Crime Does Not

This kind of upbringing was due in large part to the fortunes made by his father. Such access to wealth allowed him to lead a life of luxury in Culiacán, which also impacted the makeup of the local economy. Instead of humble farmers, authorities allege that Ovidio and others rose to become synthetic drug traffickers and urban businesspeople with investment properties and sophisticated money laundering operations.

Their values are also different, according to experts. In past decades, there was an old code where nobody attacked the families of those they were in conflict with. While that code was at times broken, it influenced how disputes were settled. Today, nobody is off limits. 

The new generation has also resorted to more public displays of extreme violence, such as when the Mayiza left the dismembered head, hands, and feet of an alleged Chapitos operative in front of a popular shopping mall in one of Culiacán’s prime business districts in March 2025.

Forced Disappearances: A Weapon of War

Just off federal highway 15 on a dirt path in southern Culiacán, a mother bent over a patch of scorched earth earlier this month, and ran her fingers through a pile of burnt debris and bone fragments. Local police had been accused of being involved in the disappearance of her son years earlier, and she had received information that his body was here.

Nestled between a busy thoroughfare and a private gated community, this area has long been used by members of the Sinaloa Cartel. In past years, InSight Crime investigators observed burnt out vehicles and hundreds of spent shell casings that suggested it was used as a training ground. But in April 2025, the site seemed more like a clandestine crematorium.

These sites are directly linked to the city’s crisis of forced disappearances, which have become a preferred tactic used by both sides during the latest war. Of the 1,610 complaints recorded in 2024, almost 60% came during the final four months, according to data from the Attorney General’s Office. However, the percentage of these crimes that go unreported, known as the cifra negra, is extremely high and almost all of them go unpunished.

“What we’re seeing is historic,” said a member of a local security commission, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “We’ve never seen this many forced disappearances before, and considering the cifra negra, there could be twice as many.”

SEE ALSO: In Sinaloa, Mexico, a Deadly Mix of Synthetic Drugs and Forced Disappearances

The motives behind abductions can vary, according to experts consulted by InSight Crime. While some may be related to forced recruitment, especially of low-level lookouts known as punteros or halcones, others may be tied to sowing fear in local communities and eliminating rival members.

At the same time, an untold number of victims have been innocent people inadvertently caught up in the latest power struggle, as both sides pursue each other with reckless abandon.

Featured image: Graffiti referencing two warring factions of the Sinaloa Cartel in Culiacán, Sinaloa. Credit: InSight Crime.

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