Mexican president blames US for bloodshed in Sinaloa state

CULIACAN, Mexico, Sept. 21 (AP): Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday blamed the United States in part for a rise in violence by the cartel that has terrorized the northern state of Sinaloa and killed at least 30 people in the past week. Two warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed in the state capital of Culiacan in what appears to be a power struggle since two of its leaders were arrested in the United States in late July.

Groups of gunmen fired shots at each other and at security forces. Meanwhile, bodies continued to appear across the city. On one busy street corner, cars drove past pools of blood leading to a body in an auto repair shop, while heavily armed police in black masks loaded up another body sprawled on a side street in Sinaloa city.

Asked at his morning briefing whether the U.S. government was “partly responsible” for the violence in Sinaloa, the president replied, “Yes, of course … for carrying out this operation.” The latest escalation in the cartel wars had been expected after Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, landed near El Paso, Texas, on July 25 in a small plane with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. Zambada was the cartel's oldest and most reclusive leader. After his arrest, he said in a letter distributed by his lawyer that he had been kidnapped by the younger Guzmán and brought to the U.S. against his will.

On Thursday afternoon, northern Culiacán was hit by another military operation using military helicopters. Traffic in Culiacán was heavy and most schools were open, although parents were still not sending their children to school. Shops still close early and few people venture out after dark. While the city slowly reopens and soldiers patrol the streets, many families remain in hiding as parents and teachers fear being caught in the crossfire.