The Mexican government announced on Tuesday that the Armed Forces have killed twenty alleged members of the Sinaloa cartel in the framework of the arrest of the leader of a faction of the organization identified as Edwin Antonio ‘N’, alias ‘El Max’.
The Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) has explained that during the arrest of the “alleged leader of a criminal cell related to the ‘Mayo Zambada’ faction of the Pacific cartel, which has actively participated in the recent violence” in the area, “an attack against military personnel by more than 30 individuals” has been recorded.
According to the SEDENA through a statement published on its website, the attackers were members of the group and the escort of the detainee, and have been repelled by the security forces, so that 19 of them have died and the rest have fled.
In addition, four machine guns, 17 long weapons, five handguns, a rifle, multiple cartridges of different calibers, thirteen vests, nine ballistic helmets and seven vehicles have been seized. All of these, as well as the detainee, have been placed at the disposal of the Culiacán Prosecutor’s Office, in Sinaloa, to determine whether to continue with the investigations.
The arrest of ‘El Max’ has taken place in the context of a growing wave of violence in the aforementioned state due to an internal dispute within the Sinaloa cartel.
