On the streets of the Mexican city being ravaged by a brutal and deadly drugs gang war

Published

1 year ago

September 20, 2024

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The sun is burning in the morning sky, the heat is intense, the humidity suffocating.

Flies buzz around our sweating brows as we peer down a dirt road, past heavily armed soldiers and their yellow crime scene tape flickering in the breeze.

It’s the latest crime scene, a double murder, two men found after dawn on an innocuous side road in a residential area of the city of Culiacan, in western Mexico.

There are many gang-related murders in Mexico every day, but this is different.

We are in the headquarter city of the Sinaloa drug cartel, arguably the most powerful crime gang in this country of cartels, and this isn’t a random gang killing, these are the latest murders in a war between two of the cartel’s leading factions – a war that could spread across this country and spill over the border into the United States.

This is a fight to the death over control of a business whose tentacles spread around the world.

The brutality, power, wealth and influence of the Mexican drug cartels are well-documented and even immortalised in fictional and factual films.

Perhaps the most famous of all the many cartels here is the Sinaloa cartel, led by Joachim El Chapo Guzman, now incarcerated in a United States prison where he will likely be for the rest of his life.

But the Sinaloa cartel is currently engaged in a brutal internal war between its two main crime families – those loyal to El Chapo, and those who support his former partner-in-crime, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.

Zambada was abducted in Mexico by one of El Chapo’s sons and flown to the United States in July. He was then handed over to the authorities, and Chapo’s son turned himself in.

It was the ultimate betrayal. And would always end as it has, with a war between the crime families.

I’ve come to Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, and the headquarters of the cartel, to assess what might happen here in the coming days, weeks, months and even years as the families battle for control of this multi-billion-dollar business synonymous with efficiency, and cold-blooded execution of this business model.

I found myself at the latest crime scene, a double murder, another cartel gang killing. It is daily now.

A heavily armed column of state police rumbles through the streets in a neighbourhood in the city’s east. They’re providing extra security around the crime scene.

The type of weaponry and armour the police are using is the type of thing you see in wars. The army is here too, guarding the perimeter.

On a small dirt road lie the bodies of two men who were found at daybreak. They are face down, next to each other. One of the men’s arms has been placed around the other, both are barefoot.

One of them has a small blanket across his body, and a green plastic bag covering his face. Children’s toys have been placed on top of them.

Why they were killed isn’t known. And why whoever killed them decided to leave them in this position is also unclear.

But people are being murdered across Culiacan every day as this gang war intensifies. And many times, at these crime scenes, the killers will leave a message – in this case, the toys.

A group of women, clearly upset, arrive at the scene. The two dead men haven’t been identified yet, but the police say the women could be family, or they could have missing relatives, and they’ve come to see if it’s them.

This level of brutality hasn’t been seen for years in Culiacan.

The Sinaloa State Police commander in charge of the scene tells me that when the violence flares up, everyone across this city, this state, and even further afield is affected.

“Whenever there are high-impact violent events, and they are generalised in the city or in different parts of the State, it is very possible that there will be social and economic impacts,” Commander Jacobo Guerrero said.

“Because businesses close, people can’t go out, and there are impacts of that nature.”

Forensic officers arrive, painstakingly assess the scene of the crime. They inspect the bodies, photograph them, and try to ascertain how the men were killed.

Eventually the bodies are zipped into bags, loaded into a white van, and taken away.

Two more murder investigations added to a growing list.

Driving around the city, the first thing I notice is the streets of Culiacan are virtually deserted. The main roads are empty of vehicles and people, and shops and businesses are shuttered.

People are too scared to go out – it’s as simple as that. And many of them tell me it’s quieter now than even at the height of the COVID pandemic.

I’ve reported on the Sinaloa cartel and its activities for over a decade. The cartel is actually a conglomeration of different crime families and crime gangs.

Sometimes those involved are happy to talk, but getting access is extremely hard, and we had to exploit our contacts and history of reporting from here to arrange a meeting in Culiacan.

We were allotted a time and a place to meet a cartel “sicario”, a hitman, senior enough to speak for his leadership.

He ushered me into a house in a dimly lit street, past their ferocious dogs snapping at us through iron-bars of security gates. Inside he explained we were in a safe house for the “sicarios” where they plan their hits on rival gang members.

The man, who called himself Tony, was originally a member of the Chapo crime family, but he says they were taking such a large cut from his drug smuggling business that he decided to join the Mayo family because they’re more fair.

“To be honest, the entire problem, the problem here in Sinaloa has been extortion – charging people to work, charging shops, not letting people work freely,” he explained to me.

“I mean, when I started working in the cartel, I could do my job freely, and right now I can’t work or I have to pay 80% to work. They’re making me pay to work, I have to pay to work in the cartel.”

We were joined by another masked sicario, who didn’t give a name – false or otherwise.

What was clear from the start is that they consider themselves caught up in war that would cost the lives of many, even their own.

“No one is indispensable in this business, in this business one person is killed and there is another one ready to take their place,” the second man told me.

They both insist that this could go on for one, two, or even three years. And that until the score is settled, it simply won’t end.

“Tony” says that Chapo’s faction has around 2,000 to 3,000 people, and that Mayo’s has around 5,000 to 6,000.

“This will end… when there is only one side left, one of them has to emerge as the winner,” he added.

The two crime families may count their available gunmen in the thousands, they may be loyal, but they are also considered utterly expendable by their crime bosses. And the attrition rate in a war like this is horrendous.

In such times, abducting innocent young men and forcing them to fight is, we are told, becoming common.

Shortly after arriving in Culiacan, the son of a famous local journalist was abducted with two of his friends, by the cartel.

The journalist feared he had lost his son for good, and immediately contacted news organisations here in Sinaloa, and the authorities begging for help.

It seems that pressure was applied on the cartel, and the son was released within a day. He was fortunate, to say the least. Very few others would be, indeed his two friends are still missing.

I asked “Tony” and his colleague about this practice, and they confirmed it was happening, unsurprisingly perhaps, claiming their faction were not involved and blaming it on the Chapos.

“That’s right, we know about this, we know this is happening and it is a shame, things should not be like this, but things happen for a reason, these are things that have to happen,” he replied.

“You need to take care of yourself, know the person you’re with and whose side you are on.”

An expert on the activities of the Sinaloa cartel is author and journalist, Miguel Angel Vega, who is from Culiacan. I have known him for a decade, and we have worked closely on many occasions.

We talked about recent developments in his home city.

“This will not end because this is a ferocious market, and a lot of money is involved, and people keep coming,” he said.

“If someone is arrested or killed, someone else will step in, and they will take power, and I don’t think this will end, this will continue, definitely.”

He told me he had never seen anything like the internal war that is developing here, and gave a stark warning that there could be unprecedented violence still to come.

“Under new leadership, new management, the whole thing, that means blood – people are going to die. Every time there is change people die,” Vega said.

“And I don’t mean just gunmen shooting each other, but also society, collateral damage, and that is the situation we fear here.”

Sometimes the security forces themselves get caught in the middle.

The morning we arrived, a military convoy had just been engaged by a convoy of cartel men travelling through town in four armoured vehicles. It’s unclear who fired first, but a firefight broke out between the two convoys.

The cartel gunmen abandoned one of their armoured vehicles – it’s windscreen and body riddled with bullets.

A soldier was killed in the battle. I watched on as investigators photographed his weapons, still visible on the road where he died.

Another murder scene.

Another forensic investigation.

Documenting a cycle of violence with no obvious end in sight.

World

‘Priceless’ jewellery stolen from Louvre museum in Paris – as authorities reveal details of daring raid

Published

4 hours ago

October 19, 2025

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'Priceless' jewellery stolen from Louvre museum in Paris - as authorities reveal details of daring raid

“Priceless” jewellery has been stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris – as authorities revealed details of the daring raid that has forced the closure of the world famous landmark.

The museum, which is the world’s most popular, drawing up to 30,000 visitors a day, said on X it was closing for “exceptional reasons” on Sunday.

In a separate post, culture minister Rachida Dati said there had been a robbery and she was on site alongside museum and police teams.

French interior minister Laurent Nunez said the “major robbery” involved intruders entering the museum via a basket lift using a platform mounted on a lorry.

“They broke a window and went towards several display cases where they stole jewellery,” he added.

“These are jewels that have genuine heritage value and are, in fact, priceless.”

Mr Nunez told France Inter radio the robbery lasted seven minutes, while the interior ministry said the criminals fled on two motorbikes. No injuries have been reported.

The robbers were well-prepared, Mr Nunez said, and “had done scouting”, cutting window panes “with a disc cutter” before escaping “on a TMAX” (a type of Yamaha maxi-scooter).

The robbery took place between 9.30 and 9.40am (8.30-8.40am UK time), the French government said in a statement, adding an investigation has begun, forensic work was under way and “a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled”.

Hooded criminals carrying “small chainsaws” entered the building from the River Seine side, where construction work is taking place, French daily newspaper, Le Parisien, said, quoting preliminary findings from the police investigation.

Intruders went to the Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo Gallery), home to a selection of the French Crown Jewels, the ministry said.

The robbers escaped with nine pieces of jewellery from Napoleon and the Empress’s collection.

A necklace, a brooch, a tiara, were among the items taken from the Napoleon and French Sovereigns display cases. A third robber stayed outside, Le Parisien said.

One of the stolen gems was later found broken outside the museum, according to the paper, which said it was believed to be Empress Eugenie’s crown.

Police sealed off the museum and evacuated visitors. New arrivals were turned away and nearby streets were closed, according to the interior ministry.

Social media users posted pictures and videos from in and outside the building, with one people leaving in what the user described as “total panic”.

On person on X said they were there and reported a confused-sounding scene of police “running near pyramid and trying to enter the Louvre from glass side doors but they were locked and they could not enter”.

“Everyone inside was running and banging on glass doors to get out, but could not open. Police and military police arrived,” they added.

It’s not the first time the museum, one of the world’s most famous and a French national landmark, has been targeted by thieves.

In 1911, the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat.

It was recovered two years later in Florence – an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait the world’s best-known artwork.

In 1983, two Renaissance-era pieces of armour were stolen and only recovered nearly four decades later.

The museum’s collection also bears the legacy of Napoleonic-era looting, containing 33,000 works of art, including antiquities, sculptures and paintings.

In addition to the Mona Lisa, its star attractions feature the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

World

Hamas hands over bodies of two more hostages, Israel confirms

Published

13 hours ago

October 19, 2025

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Hamas hands over bodies of two more hostages, Israel confirms

Israel has received the bodies of two more hostages from the Red Cross, the Israeli prime minister’s office has confirmed.

Shortly after 10pm UK time on Saturday, Israel’s military said Hamas handed over “two coffins of deceased hostages”.

There has been no identification of the bodies yet.

The news came as tensions were beginning to rise over the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office had said earlier on Saturday evening that it would stay closed “until further notice” – as the deadline for Hamas to return the bodies of the hostages had passed with no confirmation.

Mr Netanyahu had warned that its reopening would depend on how Hamas fulfilled its role in returning the remains of all 28 dead hostages.

The handover brings the count of returned bodies to 12 hostages, up from 10, according to Israel’s tally. Another 16 deceased hostages would then still have to be returned.

All 28 were supposed to have been handed over by last Monday.

The handover of remains is among key points – along with aid deliveries into Gaza and the devastated territory’s future – in the ceasefire process meant to end two years of war.

Israel’s foreign ministry had originally said the Rafah crossing would likely reopen on Sunday – another step in the fragile ceasefire. This has now been revised to being closed “until further notice”.

A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Gazans to seek medical treatment, travel internationally or visit family in Egypt, which is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

It is unclear who will operate the crossing’s heavily damaged Gaza side once the war ends.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s ruins were being scoured for the dead, over a week into a ceasefire. Newly recovered bodies brought the Palestinian toll above 68,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. But the ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.

Famine declared

Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack on southern Israel that sparked the war on October 7 2023.

Gaza’s more than two million people are hoping the ceasefire will bring relief from the humanitarian disaster caused by Israel’s offensive. Throughout the war, Israel restricted aid entry to Gaza – sometimes halting it altogether.

Famine was declared in Gaza City, and the UN says it has verified more than 400 people who died of malnutrition-related causes, including more than 100 children.

Officials in Israel say they have let in enough food, accusing Hamas of stealing much of it. The UN and other aid agencies deny this claim.

World

Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes ‘Putin is afraid’ that Donald Trump could still supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles

Published

1 day ago

October 18, 2025

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes 'Putin is afraid' that Donald Trump could still supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not ruled out the possibility that he can secure long-range Tomahawk missiles from the US, adding that he believes “Putin is afraid” of the consequences.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News’s Meet the Press, Ukraine’s president discussed some of the details of his two-hour meeting with Donald Trump on Friday, including his desire for the weapons after three years of war with Russia.

“It’s good that President Trump didn’t say ‘no’, but for today, didn’t say ‘yes’,” he said about the supply of the missiles, as part of a discussion which will air on Sunday.

Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy proposes ‘drone for Tomahawk’

He admitted the US president was concerned about a potential escalation with Russia, but Mr Zelenskyy told NBC, Sky News’s US partner, that the weapons are a genuine concern for Vladimir Putin.

“I think that Putin [is] afraid that United States will deliver us Tomahawks. And I think that he [is] really afraid that we will use them,” he said.

The weapons have a significantly longer range than any other missiles in Ukraine’s armoury and have the potential to be a game-changer in the war against Russia.

While Mr Trump did not rule out providing the Tomahawk missiles, he appeared cool to the prospect as he looked ahead to a meeting with the Russian president in Hungary in the coming weeks.

‘US doesn’t want escalation’

Following the meeting with Mr Trump, who held a phone call with Mr Putin on Thursday, Mr Zelenskyy told reporters: “We spoke about long-range (missiles) of course. And I do not want to make statements about it.”

But he added: “We don’t speak about it because… United States doesn’t want this escalation”.

Later in a post on X, Mr Zelenskyy said he was counting on President Trump to “bring this war closer to an end”.

“We discussed all key issues – our positions on the battlefield, long-range capabilities and air defence, and, of course, diplomatic prospects,” he said.

“Russia must end the aggression it started and continues to deliberately prolong. We count on the United States’ pressure.”

In a roundtable with journalists following the meeting, Mr Trump confirmed that hitting targets deep inside Russian territory would be an “escalation”.

He also said he was hesitant to tap into the US’ supply of Tomahawks, saying: “I have an obligation also to make sure that we’re completely stocked up as a country, because you never know what’s going to happen in war and peace.

“We’d much rather have them not need Tomahawks. We’d much rather have the war be over to be honest.”

Analysis: Is Trump being ‘played’ by Putin?

Before Donald Trump met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he hosted one of his favourite singers, Andrea Bocelli, in the Oval Office.

The Italian tenor serenaded him with the signature track Time To Say Goodbye, a song about hope and new beginnings.

But the next event on his agenda suggested antipathy between Trump and the Ukrainian president are firmly lodged in the past.

On the key issue of whether Vladimir Putin actually wants peace, the pair continue to fundamentally disagree.

Trump repeated several times his belief that Putin is committed to ending the war, which may come as a surprise to the people of eastern Ukraine, being pummeled by an expanded Russian offensive in the past few months.

Trump also spoke about “bad blood on both sides”, again inferring equal blame on Zelenskyy, whose sovereign nation was invaded, and Putin, who is doing the invading.

It’s in Putin’s gift to stop the fighting immediately, but that was glossed over.

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On the streets of the Mexican city being ravaged by a brutal and deadly drugs gang war

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