From September 9, 2024, to July 9, 2025, Mazatlán experienced the violence unleashed within the Sinaloa Cartel after the surrender of Ismael Zambada García “El Mayo” to the United States government.
The so-called “cockroach effect” took hold in the port and has left damage to the population and economic activity, primarily tourism, which depends on the perception of how safe a tourist destination can be.
Restaurants and food businesses have had to adjust their hours and staff to survive, while in other cases they have had to close their doors due to the lack of customers.
The real estate sector is no exception, as sales plummeted due to the insecurity.
Armed attacks, mass kidnappings, murders of police officers, arson attacks on rehabilitation centers, and even displaced communities are the consequences of this drug-related violence.
In December 2024, an armed group attacked a rehabilitation center in the Jacarandas neighborhood, causing a fire that left one person dead and several injured, two of whom died in the hospital weeks later.
In January 2025, shootings in the Santa Fe neighborhood left five people dead and an 11-year-old boy wounded by gunfire.
The child was hospitalized and received medical attention after being hit during the incident. The child’s grandmother suffered a nervous breakdown, complaining that they did not want to take the infant to the hospital.
During those months, it was reported that some rehabilitation center inmates “voluntarily” abandoned their treatment to join criminal groups, demonstrating forced recruitment in these spaces.
Forced disappearances also increased.
Since September 2024, at least 36 women have been reported missing in Mazatlán. Of these, 16 have been located, but 20 remain unaccounted for, including minors, which has kept the community on alert.
Regarding the “kidnappings,” these have reached the Golden Zone and the borders of exclusive private hunting grounds.
State and federal authorities have linked these incidents to the internal dispute within the Sinaloa cartel.
Regarding the discovery of clandestine graves, the main areas where these incidents have occurred have been in Mármol, but the southern part of the municipality is where the problem is concentrated, such as the Lomas de Monterrey community.
In the southern municipalities of Sa Ignacio, Concordia, Rosario, and Escuinapa, criminal groups have wreaked havoc on mountain communities, resulting in the forced displacement of their inhabitants, who are seeking refuge with relatives in the municipal capitals.
In these municipalities, the Armed Forces have carried out multiple operations in which they have seized training camps, weapons, explosives, drugs, tactical equipment, and even drones for launching said explosives.
Source: oem
