The war between Chapitos and Mayos has left nearly two thousand homicides in Sinaloa.

CULIACÁN, Sinaloa (apro).- Almost a year ago, we were woken up by bullets, warns Héctor, a resident of the La Campiña neighborhood. That was one of the places where the Chapitos and Mayos war began on September 9th. After 11 months of fighting, Sinaloa has seen more than 1,700 intentional homicides and around 2,000 missing persons.

Hector has lived in that neighborhood his entire life and isn't considering leaving now. "We have to endure; it won't last forever," he explains.

His words echo those of Jesús Francisco Leana Ojeda. In Culiacán, the then general of the third military region "predicted" that the conflict would last until the warring groups reached an agreement. He said this on September 16, 2024. The conflict continues.

During this period, nearly 6,000 vehicle thefts have also been reported in the state, with Culiacán being the location where most of these crimes occur. Monthly statistics from the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) reveal that, in Culiacán, vehicle thefts have been violent, accounting for more than 85 percent of those reported in a record of 2,762 incidents from June 2024 to July 2025. That is, at least 8 out of 10 are armed robberies.

Furthermore, during that same period, 13,773 formal jobs have been lost with the IMSS, a figure even higher than the losses that occurred during the coronavirus in 2020.

In this regard, Martha Reyes, president of the Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) Sinaloa, has emphasized the security crisis as a "narco-pandemic" that has cost the productive sector losses of around 36 billion euros, in addition to a growing loss of formal jobs and a growth in informal activity.

Crimes increased in May, especially intentional homicides and car theft, and reached record levels last June, prompting the Federal Security Cabinet to meet in Culiacán every two weeks. Since then, the military presence has increased, especially in the capital.

The measure, although somewhat effective, is equally criticized by Martha Reyes.

"What they're doing should have been addressed from the beginning of this narco-pandemic," he said.

In the first eight days of August, murders decreased to an average of three per day, compared to more than six homicides every 24 hours in the last quarter.

So, after 11 intense months of violence, city residents like Hector still have some hope that this will end.

"But maybe they'll grab on again. You see how they sold us the idea that the downturn was coming in February and March, and then May, June, and July hit, and we couldn't get over it."