Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says the United States is partly responsible for rising Sinaloa cartel violence in the past week, leaving dozens of people dead.

The "instability and clashes" have led to 53 deaths in the country's northern state of Sinaloa, the president stated during his morning news briefing, blaming a "totally illegal" operation orchestrated by the US forces.

On September 9, clashes sparked between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, leaving 51 people missing, with intense violence that shows no signs of waning. 

How the violence erupted

The violence between the two dominant factions of the Sinaloa Cartel started back in July when Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, top trafficker and head of one of the groups, was arrested in the US.

Zambada accused a high-ranking member of the Los Chapitos, another faction of the cartel, kidnapped him and forced him to travel to the US.

Lopez Obrador said the US holds some responsibility for the violence "for having carried out that operation" to arrest Zambada, highlighting the arrest "produced the confrontation that is taking place in Sinaloa."

The trafficker was detained alongside Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is currently serving a life sentence in the United States.

Since September 9, shootouts in the capital of Culiacan have resulted in school closures on some days, with restaurants and shops locking up early.

"When it is said that the United States, we, are responsible for what is happening in Sinaloa, in other places, well, I do not agree with that," US Ambassador to Mexico City Ken Salazar stated, according to Mexican media reports, rejecting the US’ role in igniting the cartel violence.

US judge blocks Mexico's $10bn anti-arms smuggling lawsuit, again

In 2022, A US judge dropped the majority of Mexico's $10 billion lawsuit that aimed to hold American gun manufacturers accountable for enabling the trafficking of firearms to violent drug cartels across the US-Mexico border, particularly through Massachusetts.

US District Judge Dennis Saylor in Boston dissolved the charges raised against six out of eight companies sued by Mexico in 2021, including giant Sturm, Ruger, and Glock, under the pretense of jurisdictional issues. 

He described the companies' ties to the state of Massachusetts as "gossamer-thin at best," explaining that none of the six companies were incorporated in the state. Saylor stated that Mexico failed to demonstrate that any firearms sold in Massachusetts caused harm to the country.

Although Mexico contended that it was statistically probable that some firearms sold in Massachusetts were later illegally trafficked to Mexico, Saylor stated that the country did not provide enough evidence to establish jurisdiction.

Mexico accused the gun manufacturers of deliberately undermining its strict gun laws by designing, marketing, and distributing military-style assault weapons in ways that they knew would end up arming drug cartels, leading to violence, extortion, and kidnappings.

The country claimed that over 500,000 guns are trafficked from the United States to Mexico each year, with more than 68% made by the companies it sued, which has contributed to high rates of gun-related deaths, reduced investment and economic activity, and increased spending on law enforcement and public safety.