FRANCE 24 report: Inside the war between rival factions of the powerful Sinaloa cartel
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00:00Two sombreros rest on these corpses found this morning on the side of a Culecán road.
00:05This is the distinctive sign of La MaÃza, the group led by Elmayo Zambada's son, which
00:11is waging a merciless war against its rival, Los Chapitos.
00:15A few hours later, another body is found in this impoverished part of town.
00:21Veronica copes as best she can with the sudden violence.
00:25I'm terrified.
00:26The government wants to downplay things when in fact it's happening in broad daylight.
00:32Imagine at night, we don't sleep.
00:35For the past three weeks, the state capital has been plunged into a spiral of violence
00:40as two formerly allied factions battle to take control of the Sinaloa cartel.
00:45Every night, Guillermo takes part in the fight on behalf of Los Chapitos.
00:51They've been very clear.
00:52On both sides, it's an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
00:57They haven't tried to negotiate.
00:58They want war.
00:59And that's what's going to happen.
01:01Maybe my cousin is on the other side, or even my brother or my father-in-law.
01:05We don't know.
01:08Once a watchman, he's now forced to carry a gun, risking his life every day.
01:14I have children, a wife.
01:16Maybe tomorrow I won't be with them anymore.
01:19I have a friend who was recently shot and his family is left with nothing except their
01:24eyes to cry.
01:27Despite the deployment of 2,800 soldiers as reinforcements, the situation is not improving.
01:34Less than 10 percent of this school's students showed up this morning.
01:38Yes, parents are obviously hesitant.
01:41If there's a gunfight, all the children get down on the ground.
01:44No one looks up.
01:45No one goes out.
01:46It's the most common thing that you hear gunshots.
01:51Sinaloa's residents have experienced spikes in violence following the arrest of a crime
01:55boss on several occasions.
01:57But this time, the scenario is different.
02:00People are even more afraid that another powerful cartel, Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación,
02:06takes advantage of the weakness of its enemy, gets into the state, leads the drug traffic
02:11and imposes its brutal rules on the population.