AMLO and Army General Ojeda Admit They Have No Control Over Cartel Violence in Sinaloa

“Socalj” for Borderland Beat

The Commander of the Third Military Region, Francisco Jesús Leana Ojeda, said that the end of the violence does not depend on the Army or the security forces, but on rival groups “stopping fighting each other.” In response, the President of Mexico justified that in order to provide greater security to the residents, the order was given to keep the elements of the SEDENA to remain “for the necessary time” in the state of Sinaloa.

“Priority is being given to protecting citizens, so that people can trust that we will be there as long as necessary to protect them. We are vigilant and the Armed Forces are protecting the population.”

The statement was made at the end of the parade commemorating the anniversary of Mexico’s independence in Culiacán, during a press conference held in the City Hall’s Council Chamber.

Leana Ojeda announced the results of the operations during a week of violence in the state where 29 confrontations have been recorded, of which 13 have been direct attacks against military personnel, he said, and that to date there have been 3 military personnel killed and three wounded.

In the past week alone, more than 37 people have been kidnapped and at least 38 deaths have taken place, with two dozen of those deaths occurring just this past weekend. This adds to the 10 or more additional deaths in recent weeks. 47 complaints of vehicle theft have also been filed in the past week as narco blockades have occured in several areas.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, during these operations the following have been seized:

101 long weapons
29 handguns
More than 25,000 rounds of different calibers
57 vehicles, of which 12 are armored
1 cloned patrol car of the Municipal Police of Culiacán

Schools were closed last Thursday and Friday due to the violence and the governor said that Sunday’s Independence Day festivities had been canceled.

The US on Thursday issued a security alert because of “reports of car thefts, gunfire, security forces operations, roadblocks, burning vehicles and closed roadways” in the vicinity of Culiacan.

Hacked Government Websites

The Government of Sinaloa suffered cyber attacks on the websites of the Tax Administration Service of the State of Sinaloa (SATES) and the College of Bachelors of the State of Sinaloa (COBAES), where messages warning of more deaths were posted.

“Governor Rocha Moya. This is not the land of assholes, you better go fuck yourself and don’t come back. More death is coming to Sinaloa,” read the message posted on the COBAES website. The SATES tax site displayed a similar text, but without mentioning the name of the governor.

On both websites appeared warning that “more deaths are coming to Sinaloa.”

The cyber attack occurred at around 4:30 p.m. and it was not until 6:00 p.m. that the state government provided an update on the situation through a press release.

“A few minutes ago, a hack was detected on the official pages of both COBAES and SATES, which was immediately detected and the security systems were activated, so that in the space of approximately 10 minutes, the situation was fully under control,” the statement said.