Mexico probes reported kidnappings in cartel hotspot

Mexican authorities were investigating the alleged kidnapping Friday of at least 15 people in a northwestern state home to one of the country’s most powerful drug cartels, an official said.

An emergency hotline received reports of abductions from several homes in a working-class neighborhood of Culiacan, according to Sinaloa state security secretary Gerardo Merida.

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“In total there are 15 people. This is the preliminary data we have,” Merida told journalists, adding that several minors were reported to be among them.

Security forces were deployed to investigate, he said.

According to witnesses quoted in a report from his department, gunmen arrived in pick-up trucks and fired shots in the air, prompting cries for help.

The incident happened a day after three people died during an armed clash in the Sinaloa town of Badiraguato, birthplace of notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.

It was unclear if the two events were related, Merida said.

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Culiacan was the scene of violent riots by the Sinaloa cartel in October 2019 during an aborted operation to capture El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzman, and again in January 2023 when the cartel heir was finally arrested.

“These are things that unfortunately happen,” Sinaloa state governor Ruben Rocha said Friday, urging residents not to be scared.

Murders, abductions and forced disappearances are daily occurrences in Mexico, particularly in areas gripped by turf wars between drug gangs such as Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel.

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Nearly 450,000 people have been murdered across Mexico since 2006 when then-president Felipe Calderon launched a controversial anti-drug military campaign, according to official figures.