Culiacán, Sinaloa – Gunfire echoes through deserted streets as rival cartel factions turn this Mexican city into a war zone.
Masked gunmen patrol freely while terrified residents barricade themselves indoors, witnessing a level of violence unseen in years.
The horror began Monday when authorities discovered four headless bodies dangling from a highway bridge, their severed heads stuffed in a nearby bag.
Hours later, investigators found 16 executed men in a bullet-riddled van, one decapitated, with a chilling cartel message left at the scene.
This carnage stems from a brutal power struggle between Los Chapitos and La Mayiza, two factions tearing apart the once-unified Sinaloa Cartel.
The conflict ignited last September when one leader was betrayed and delivered to U.S. authorities, sparking relentless retaliation.
Residents describe living in constant terror as daily shootouts transform neighborhoods into battlegrounds.
“We hear gunfire at all hours,” said a shopkeeper who fled after bullets pierced his storefront.
Schools close frequently, businesses remain shuttered, and families sleep on floors to avoid stray bullets.
State officials claim military and police are working to restore order, but their presence does little to calm the panic.
“They patrol by day, but the killers return at night,” whispered a mother keeping her children home for weeks.
The cartels’ grip appears unshaken despite government promises.
The violence exposes Mexico’s deepening crisis as cartels grow bolder.
Where Culiacán once enjoyed relative calm under cartel control, it now joins other regions drowning in bloodshed.
Analysts warn the conflict could worsen as factions fight for billion-dollar drug routes.
With no end in sight, Culiacán’s people face impossible choices – flee or live under siege.
As body counts rise and fear paralyzes the city, one question haunts everyone: when will the next massacre come?
The answers remain as elusive as peace in a land ruled by cartels.