Despite the violence and fear experienced by the inhabitants of Culiacán on Thursday, the governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, downplayed the clashes and blockades with burning vehicles.
The local leader said that Sinaloa “is calm” and that “it was just an incident, but it has no further consequences.”
“They found an Army patrol with a truck full of armed men, that was the incident, but now there is nothing, very well, Sinaloa is calm,” said Rocha Moya upon his arrival at the National Palace for the meeting called by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with Morena governors.
He was also asked about the case of the alleged kidnapping of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and whether he will appear before the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), to which he replied: “When they call me.”
Another Black Thursday in Culiacán
Armed civilians clashed yesterday with elements of the Mexican Army in the community of Peñasco, in the northern area of Culiacán, Sinaloa, which caused businesses to close and truck routes to stop operating.
Initial reports indicated that the violent events were concentrated in the town of Paredones and the municipality of Jesús María, the town where Ovidio Guzmán López, one of the sons of Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán Loera, was arrested in January of last year, but it was later confirmed that the location of the events was Peñasco.
Following the exchange of bullets, the Mexico 15 highway, north of the city, was blocked with two trucks that were set on fire, facts confirmed by Governor Rubén Rocha Moya on his social account X.
The confrontation and the roadblock caused fear among the population, so merchants decided to close their businesses, while city bus drivers stopped charging fares, which caused users to crowd at bus stops, while road traffic worsened on the main roads of Culiacán.
The state’s Secretary of Public Security, Gerardo Mérida Sánchez, ruled out in front of the press that it was another Culiacanazo and urged everyone to remain calm.
|| With information from José Miguel Souza / El Sol de Sinaloa ||