2023 Sinaloa unrest

2023 Battle of Culiacan
	Part of the Mexican drug war
Date	January 5–13, 2023; (9 days)
Location	Sinaloa, Mexico
Result	Mexican government victory Successful capture and transfer of the druglord Ovidio Guzmán; Withdrawal of the Sinaloa Cartel's militant forces;
Belligerents
Mexico	Sinaloa Cartel
Commanders and leaders
Andrés Manuel López Obrador; Luis Cresencio Sandoval; Rubén Rocha Moya ; Luis Rodríguez Bucio ; Alfredo Salgado Vargas ; Cristóbal Castañeda Camarillo	Ovidio Guzmán López (POW) ; Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar ; Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar ; Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas
Units involved
Mexican Armed Forces ; Mexican Army Special Forces Corps Special Reaction Force; ; Parachute Riflemen Brigade Parachute Riflemen Brigade Special Forces; ; ; Mexican Air Force; Mexican Navy Naval Infantry Corps; ; Mexican National Guard; Sinaloa State Police;	Sinaloa Cartel factions Los Chapitos (a.k.a. Gente Nueva) El Ratón Special Forces (special forces wing); ; Los Ninis; Los Salazar; Los Chimales; Irregular troops of gunmen and "Hawks" (watchmen of the Sinaloa Cartel);
Strength
3,586 (4,500 post-riot)	Around 5,000
Casualties and losses
10 soldiers killed; 35 soldiers wounded; 1 police officer killed; 17 police officers wounded Visually confirmed per Oryx: 2 DN-XI infantry mobility vehicles; 1 technical; 1 Boeing 737-800 lightly damaged; 1 CASA C-295M lightly damaged	19 cartel members killed 21 cartel members captured Visually confirmed per Oryx: 26 captured Sinaloa Cartel vehicles; 14 destroyed Sinaloa Cartel vehicles
	One 14 year old boy injured

The 2023 Sinaloa unrest began on January 5, 2023, following the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, son of jailed drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, sparking a wave of violence in the state of Sinaloa.^[2] In retaliation for the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, cartel members blocked highways with burning vehicles and began attacks against the armed forces.^[3] The Culiacán International Airport was closed after gunfire was opened on two planes (one passenger and the other military). On January 13, the Mexican Secretary of the Interior Adán Augusto López Hernández declared that "order has been reestablished" in Sinaloa.^[4]

According to official reports, ten soldiers, a police officer and 19 alleged members of the Sinaloa Cartel were killed.^[2] The violence prompted the Mexican military to launch a series of armed raids using planes and helicopters to attack cartel members.^[5]

^ Manuel, Aceves (7 January 2023). "Suman 14 muertos por balaceras en Culiacán". El Heraldo. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
^ ^a ^b Stevenson, Mark; Verza, María (7 January 2022). "Mexico gives account of violence after 'Chapo' son nabbed". Associated Press.
^ All Source News [@All_Source_News] (6 January 2023). "To everyone saying the below video is fake or old, here is a separate angle of the same event. https://t.co/KHfv35WRuO https://t.co/ULgiGwi2sZ" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 February 2023 – via Twitter.
^ "Adán Augusto aseguró que ya "se restableció el orden" en Sinaloa tras la captura de Ovidio Guzmán" [Adán Augusto claimed that "order has been reestablished" in Sinaloa after Ovidio Guzmán's capture]. Infobae (in Spanish). 13 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
^ All Source News [@All_Source_News] (5 January 2023). "Video of a Mexican Air Force T-6 supprting Mexican security forces earlier today in Culiacán, Sinaloa https://t.co/c6feYx5I01" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 February 2023 – via Twitter.

[1] Manuel, Aceves (7 January 2023). "Suman 14 muertos por balaceras en Culiacán". El Heraldo. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.

[:1-2] Stevenson, Mark; Verza, María (7 January 2022). "Mexico gives account of violence after 'Chapo' son nabbed". Associated Press.

[3] All Source News [@All_Source_News] (6 January 2023). "To everyone saying the below video is fake or old, here is a separate angle of the same event. https://t.co/KHfv35WRuO https://t.co/ULgiGwi2sZ" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 February 2023 – via Twitter.

[Infobae_13_January_2023-4] "Adán Augusto aseguró que ya "se restableció el orden" en Sinaloa tras la captura de Ovidio Guzmán" [Adán Augusto claimed that "order has been reestablished" in Sinaloa after Ovidio Guzmán's capture]. Infobae (in Spanish). 13 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.

[5] All Source News [@All_Source_News] (5 January 2023). "Video of a Mexican Air Force T-6 supprting Mexican security forces earlier today in Culiacán, Sinaloa https://t.co/c6feYx5I01" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 February 2023 – via Twitter.

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