Violence in Sinaloa Continues to Escalate: Death Toll Climbs to 118 With Five Bodies Found Inside a Van

ALABAMA - Violence in northern Mexico continues to escalate: turf wars between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel as well as conflicts between cartels for control over territories have led to a record number of deaths in the region.

The epicenter has been Culiacán, the capital city of the state of Sinaloa. Since Sept. 9, when the "Chapitos," who answer to Joaquín, "El Chapo" Guzmán and the "Mayiza," loyal to recently-captured Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada intensified their clashes, more than 110 people have been reported dead in clashes between both factions of the Sinaloa Cartel or related violence.

The figure continues to increase as Mexican news outlet Milenio reported that five bodies were found inside a van in the southern Culiacán neighborhood of Jardines del Humaya. So far, neither the state's prosecutor's office nor the Sinaloa's Secretariat of Public Security have released any information on the subject.

According to Milenio, the bodies were found inside bags and tied with tape. Despite being found a few days ago already, the identity of the victims remains unknown.

The report said that the van in which the bodies were found had a message painted with spray on the side of the vehicle that read "Welcome to Culiacán."

The message could be related to Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum's visit to Sinaloa on Sept. 27, as AMLO prepares to end his presidential term and Sheinbaum is set to take office on October 1.

Elsewhere in Sinaloa, in the coastal town of Barras de Piaxtla, four people were found dead after a shooting broke down. Two of the bodies found were completely calcined.

The turf wars between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel has also spilled over to other states in northern Mexico, including Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Zacatecas and Durango.

On Sept. 26, the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) claimed responsibility for a large explosion at a public event in the city of Zacatecas, which resulted in 20 people being injured and police cars damaged. It was reportedly a message to the state governor, accused by the cartel of allowing the entry of a Sinaloa Cartel faction into the territory.

In his visit to Sinaloa, López Obrador said that he is "confident" things will go back to normal, arguing that during his presidential term the region did not have these sort of problems. Talking at the opening of an irrigation project at the Santa María dam, AMLO said that it was not until the U.S.'s decision to apprehend Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada that problems started to rise in the region.

"I hope everyone understands that we all want to live in peace...That is why we are here, because the United States' Embassy sent out a notification so people do not travel to Sinaloa," AMLO said about the alert sent from the U.S. on Sept. 12, three days after the start of the conflict between cartel factions.

Since the conflict began, EFE reports that more than 70 murders have taken place since Sept. 9. The Mexican government has relied in more than 2,200 Air Force agents to stop the violence.