Attack targeting Sinaloa cartel leader kills 11, Mexican military says Crime News

Omar Osvaldo Torres, leader of the Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa criminal network, was arrested in the raid.

Mexican authorities have revealed that 11 people were killed during the raid that led to the capture of Sinaloa cartel leader Omar Osvaldo Torres.

In a social media post on Thursday, the Mexican Navy said the attack took place in Culiacan, part of Sinaloa state in northern Mexico.

It alleged that its personnel were attacked at the scene of the attack and 11 “assailants” were killed and shot dead. His identity is yet to be released to the public.

“High-powered weapons and tactical equipment were recovered from the scene,” the Navy said in a statement.

The woman has been identified as Torres, the Navy added Daughter was also present during the operation But she was released to her family due to lack of connection to criminal activities.

Torres, nicknamed “El Patas”, is the leader of the Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa cartel.

In recent years, Los Mayos have been feuding with another faction, Los Chapitos. Each side named a different Sinaloa cartel leader: Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, both of whom were arrested and imprisoned in the United States.

Thursday’s attack comes as governments across Latin America seek to deliver clear results for United States President Donald Trump in his fight against crime and drug trafficking.

Just this week, the Mexican government participated in a law enforcement operation with Ecuador and Colombia to arrest Angel Esteban Aguilar, leader of the Los Lobos crime group.

A separate Mexican military operation in the state of Jalisco last month led to the death of Nemesio Oseguera, also known as “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel.

Criminal groups responded with an explosion of violence across Mexico, including roadblocks and attacks on security forces outposts.

Critics have questioned the effectiveness of the more military methods that Trump has pressured Latin American leaders to use against cartel leaders.

Capturing or killing cartel leaders is sometimes called the “beheading tactic,” and this method is designed to weaken the structure of criminal networks.

But experts warn that the “beheading strategy” risks escalating violence in the long run as new conflicts emerge to fill the leadership vacuum.

Many suggest that such military approaches fail to address the root causes of crime, among them corruption and poverty.

Still, Trump has labeled groups like the Sinaloa cartel as “foreign terrorist organizations” and has indicated he would consider taking military action on Mexican soil against such groups, despite concerns that such actions would violate Mexican sovereignty.

At a summit of Latin American leaders earlier this month, Trump said he considered Mexico an “epicenter” of cartel violence.

“We have to eliminate them,” Trump said of the cartels. “We have to knock the hell out of them because they’re getting worse. They’re taking over their country. The cartels are running Mexico. We can’t have that.”

Mexican officials, meanwhile, have called on the US to stem the flow of illegal arms to Mexico, to little avail.

Last year, the Supreme Court struck down a lawsuit by the Mexican government alleging negligence by US gun makers, whose products were used to equip criminal networks in the Latin American country.