Operation Sinaloa or Operation Culiacan - Navolato (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

: Operacion Sinaloa/Operacion Conjunto Sinaloa) is an ongoing anti-drug trafficking operation in the Mexican state of

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and ...

by the

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

and the

Mexican Armed Forces The Mexican Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de México) are the military forces of the United Mexican States. The Spanish crown established a standing military in colonial Mexico in the eighteenth century. After Mexican independence in 1821, ...

. Its main objective is to cripple all cartel organizations such as the

Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in il ...

, Beltrán-Leyva Cartel and

Los Zetas Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican organized crime, criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as Decapitation#Mex ...

that operate in that state. The Military was deployed in response to the murder of Mexico's

commissioner

Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez (1967 – 8 May 2008) was a third-ranking member of Mexico's Secretariat of Public Security and acting commissioner of the Federal Preventive Police. Born in Mexico City, he received a law degree from the Universid ...

Background

President Felipe Calderón's government ordered massive raids on drug cartels upon assuming office in December 2006 in response to an increasingly deadly spate of violence in his home state of Michoacán. The decision to intensify drug enforcement operations has led to an ongoing conflict between the federal government and the Mexican drug cartels. Sinaloa is home to the

Sinaloa cartel The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in il ...

and Beltrán-Leyva Cartel who are at war with each other since their break in 2008 due to the arrest of

Alfredo Beltrán Leyva Alfredo Beltrán Leyva (born January 21, 1971), commonly referred to by his alias El Mochomo ( The Desert Ant), is a Mexican convicted drug lord and former leader of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. He was one of Mexic ...

(a.k.a. ''El Mochomo'', " The Desert Ant") on January 20, 2008. Beltrán Leyva's arrest was a huge blow to the

, as he allegedly oversaw large-scale drug-smuggling operations and was a key money launderer for the cartel. In apparent

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

for the arrest of his brother Alfredo,

Arturo Beltrán Leyva Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva (September 27, 1961 – December 16, 2009) was a Mexican drug lord who, alongside his brothers, founded and led the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. Prior to founding his own organization, Beltran-Leyva was a longtime high-ra ...

ordered the assassination of the commissioner of the

and other top federal officials in the Mexican capital. One group of these

hit men Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...

was captured in a

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

house with dozens of assault rifles, pistols, grenade launchers, 30

hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern ...

s, and bullet-proof jackets bearing the legend FEDA — the Spanish acronym for 'Special Forces of Arturo'. Apparently, the Beltrán Leyva brothers blamed their boss Joaquin "Chapo" Guzmán for their brother's arrest, and ordered the assassination of Guzmán's son, 22-year-old Édgar Guzmán López, which was carried out in a shopping center parking lot by at least 15 gunmen using assault rifles and

grenade launchers A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The most ...

2008

* January 3 - Mexican military and police personnel discover 252.7 kilos of cocaine inside freight containers on board a ship in the port of

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding '' municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip ...

. * May 11, 2008 - Alfonso Gutiérrez Loera cousin of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera and 5 other drug traffickers were arrested after a shootout with

officers in

Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both the Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531, by the Spanish conquerors Lázar ...

. Along with the captured suspects, 16 assault rifles, 3 grenades, 102 magazines and 3,543 ammunition rounds were seized. * May 13 -

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also *Interior ministry A ...

Juan Camilo Mouriño Juan Camilo Mouriño Terrazo (1 August 1971 – 4 November 2008) was a Spanish-born politician affiliated with the National Action Party (PAN) and the Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of President Felipe Calderón. Personal life an ...

announces the launch of ''Operation Sinaloa'' by deploying 3,000 Army and Federal Police troops to

. That day, 300 Mexican troops in a 50 vehicle convoy arrived in the city of

Navolato Navolato is a city in Navolato Municipality in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. It is located on the central coast part of the state bordering the Gulf of California. The municipality reported 135,603 inhabitants in the 2010 census, while the city ...

. * May 22 - In Culiacán, Sinaloa, acting on an citizen's complaint that armed men were present inside a household in Culiacán's Colonia Guadalupe. Mexican troops from the 24th Motorized Cavalry Regiment and 94th Infantry Battalion raided the household and seized $6 million, 13,831 rounds of ammunition, and 16 magazines but no suspects were apprehended. * May 24 - Mexican Naval air and ground units intercepted two small boats carrying 3 tons of marijuana and close to 2 kilos of marijuana seeds in Altata, Sinaloa. * May 27 -

Mexican marines The Naval Infantry Corps ( es, Cuerpo de Infantería de Marina) are the naval infantry and amphibious infantry force of the Mexican Navy. The main task of the ''Infantería de Marina'' is to guarantee the maritime security of the country's port ...

and Federal Police forces conducted a search raid on two houses in

. Marine and Police personnel discovered and seized three assault rifles, 2 rifle magazines and 33 cartridges. 3 trucks were also seized, inside two of them various packages of marijuana was discovered. * June 5 - Mexican marines locate and destroy 1,200 marijuana plants inside a plantation outside the town of El Naranjo. Also, in another part of the state 3 individuals were arrested in a military checkpoint they were in possession of 400 grams of crystal meth, 3 packages of marijuana with a weight of 400 kilos, 2 assault rifles and two trucks. * June 9 - Due to a maritime and aerial patrol, Mexican naval units seized two small boats carrying 4 tons of marijuana. Days later, The Mexican Navy incinerated the seized marijuana.

2009

* February 18 - Mexican Marines discover 21 grams of cocaine hidden inside the tires of a pick up truck that was stopped for inspection in

. * March 19 - The

Mexican Military The Mexican Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de México) are the military forces of the United Mexican States. The Spanish crown established a standing military in colonial Mexico in the eighteenth century. After Mexican independence in 1821, ...

captures alleged

drug boss

Vicente Zambada Niebla Jesús Vicente Zambada Niebla (born 24 March 1975), also known as "El Vicentillo", is a Mexican convicted drug lord and former high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, a criminal group based in Sinaloa. He is the son of Ismael "El Mayo" Zamb ...

, son of drug lord

Ismael Zambada García Ismael may refer to: People * Ismael Balkhi, a political activist from Afghanistan * Ismael Blanco (born 1983), an Argentine professional footballer * Ismael Prego "Wismichu", a Spanish youtuber * Ismael Villegas, a Puerto Rican Major League Bas ...

''El Mayo''. * June 12 - Mexican marines locate and seized a drug laboratory filled with 50 thousand liters of liquid

Ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in n ...

46 kilometers north of

. * October 12 - With the help of a U.S. Navy ship, Mexican Naval personnel intercepted the ship vessel "FIONA" of the coast of

Clarion Island Isla Clarión, formerly called Santa Rosa, is the second largest, westernmost and most remote of Mexico's Revillagigedo Islands. The island is located west of Socorro Island and over from the Mexican mainland. It has an area of and three p ...

. 4 individuals and 500 kilos of cocaine were seized.

2010

* January 2 -

Carlos Beltrán Leyva Carlos Beltrán Leyva (born 1969) is a Mexican incarcerated drug lord with the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. The cartel was created by the four Beltrán Leyva brothers: Carlos, Héctor, Alfredo and Arturo. Born in the Sinaloan countryside in the late ...

, brother of

Marcos Arturo Beltrán-Leyva Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' * Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...

was arrested by

officers in Culiacán, Sinaloa. * March 31 – In various parts around

, troops from the 9th military zone seized 7 kilos 200 grams of crystal that was found inside the compartment of a truck, a clandestine laboratory for producing synthetic drugs with 65 liters of

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Meth ...

, 30 assault rifles, 23 magazines, one vehicle and $30 thousand. * April 30 – For two days,

SIEDO es, label=none, italics=none, Subprocuraduría Especializada en Investigación de Delincuencia Organizada, lit=Assistant Attorney General's Office for Special Investigations on Organized Crime(SEIDO), is the organized crime division of Mexico's O ...

agents supported by hundreds of

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (ref ...

initiated various household raids in

. Two individuals were arrested. * May 1 – In Cualiacan, Sinaloa, a Municipal Police commander was ambushed and shot dead in his patrol vehicle in the Colonia of Ferrocarrilera. ** In

Los Mochis Los Mochis () is a coastal city in northern Sinaloa, Mexico. It serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of Ahome. As of the 2010 census, the population was 362,613, which was 61 percent of the municipality's population. Los Mochis is th ...

, government officials announced that 500

officers would be deployed in the municipality of

Ahome Ahome () is a municipality on the coast of the Gulf of California in the northwestern part of the Mexican state of Sinaloa; it is adjacent to the southern border of Sonora state. It reported 388,344 inhabitants in the 2005 census. Ahome (populati ...

to reinforce the municipal police. Less than 150 of those officers will be sent to Los Mochis.

Background

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References