Violence In Mexican Cartel Bastion Claims 150 Lives In A Month

A wave of violence in a Mexican cartel stronghold shaken by gang infighting has left around 150 people dead over the past month, according to the state prosecutor's office.

They include five men whose bodies were found with gunshot wounds Thursday night on a main avenue in Culiacan, authorities said.

A turf war broke out on September 9 between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico's most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations.

Some local police suspected of involvement have been disarmed by the military.

The clashes follow the dramatic July 25 arrest on US soil of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who claimed he had been kidnapped in Mexico and delivered into US custody against his will.

Zambada, 76, was detained along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of El Chapo, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.

The violence is believed to pit gang members loyal to El Chapo and his sons against others aligned with Zambada, who pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges in a New York court last month.

Former Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said before leaving office this week that the United States shared blame for the infighting because of Zambada's arrest -- a claim rejected by US ambassador Ken Salazar.

Washington denies having planned his capture.

Spiraling criminal violence, much of it linked to drug trafficking and gangs, has seen more than 450,000 people murdered in Mexico since 2006.

Claudia Sheinbaum, who was sworn in Tuesday as Mexico's first woman president, has pledged to stick to Lopez Obrador's "hugs not bullets" strategy of using social policy to tackle crime at its roots.

The former Mexico City mayor and key ruling party figure is due to unveil her security plan next week.

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