The Sinaloan arsenal
Omar García Harfuch, head of Security, has just released something that makes noise. Since October 2024, one in every five weapons that are seized throughout the country comes from Sinaloa. Exactly 4,850 pieces. That is 20% of the national total.
But cold numbers sometimes don’t paint the whole picture. What really raises red flags is what type of weapons they are finding.
They are not just little guns
The official detailed the loot: more than a million useful cartridges, machine guns, Barrett rifles and even grenade launchers. The jewel in the crown: more than 5,500 improvised explosive devices. That is not equipment for a street fight; It’s for a war.
“The federal reinforcement was implemented after the spike in violence recorded in September 2024, derived from disputes between criminal groups after the capture of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada.”
There is the key. The capture of the ‘Mayo’ did not bring peace, but rather a violent reconfiguration of the board. The groups that remain dispute the territory, and they do so with alarming military power.
The official response, they say, was coordinated. By instruction of President Sheinbaum and in conjunction with Governor Rocha Moya. His plan has three legs: reduce high-impact crimes, stop the generators of violence and strengthen investigation and the state police.
It sounds good on paper. It always sounds good on paper. The uncomfortable question that remains floating is: if there is so much deployment and strategy, how does this enormous arsenal continue to flow towards Sinaloa? The figures speak of what can be seized, but they are silent about what is not seen.
