Mexican troops shot dead 19 suspected members of the Sinaloa cartel after they came under attack in the northwestern state, the ministry of defense said Tuesday.
Military personnel were attacked on Monday by more than 30 people near the state capital Culiacan, and the ensuing firefight left 19 cartel members dead, the ministry said in a statement.
Sinaloa has seen a surge in violence since the July arrest of the cartel’s co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in the United States.
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The ministry of defense said the cartel members killed on Monday were presumed to be linked to Zambada’s faction.
If the things I’ve been reading over time are true, the Mexican Army had been having a tough time fighting the cartels because the cartels had military weapons and some ex military leaders.
But recently, the army has been far more effective because their training has been more focused on combating cartels, and those ex military in the cartel are dwindling in numbers.