A group of cartel gunmen carried out a brazen attack on a funeral procession in front of a squad of Mexican Army soldiers who did nothing to stop it. The attack comes at a time when the governor of that state, Sinaloa, had to take leave after him and nine of his closest allies were named as drug traffickers in a criminal indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The attack took place this week in Culiacan, Sinaloa, a region that has been ground zero for a fierce turf war between two rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. Preliminary information revealed that two gunmen riding in a sedan-type vehicle pulled up to a funeral procession, got out of their vehicles, and began shooting. The attack left two dead and three others injured. The gunmen immediately got back in their vehicle and sped away.
According to local news outlets, a military vehicle was moving next to the funeral procession at the time of the attack, but the soldiers inside did not do anything to deter or fight off the attack.
Mexican military truck at the moment of the attack. Credit: Breitbart News Foundation / Cartel Chronicles
The shooting comes at a time when Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, is constantly claiming that crime is decreasing under her watch. The claims are an attempt to diffuse pressure from the U.S. government, which has been pushing Mexico to fight cartels, claiming they are not doing enough and threatening to intervene itself.
As Breitbart Texas reported, last month, the U.S. Department of Justice criminally indicted Sinaloa’s Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and nine of his closest allies, accusing them of working for the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for bribes and political power. The move has sparked significant resistance in Mexico, as Rocha Moya is from Mexico’s ruling party, MORENA, and is a close ally and friend of Sheinbaum’s mentor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.