Some 53 people have been killed and 51 others are missing in Mexico's western Sinaloa state since rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel began clashing on Sept 9, local authorities said on Friday, with gruesome violence showing no signs of abating.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has blamed the United States in part for the surge in cartel violence terrorizing the northern state of Sinaloa which has left at least 30 people dead in the past week.

Shootouts in the western Mexican state of Sinaloa have kindled fears that an intra-cartel war is about to break out in the wake of the arrest of legendary trafficker, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, in July.

More than 100 have been left dead or missing in Mexico after the notorious Sinaloa Cartel descended into a bloody civil war. The conflict between the two factions began in July 2024, when ‘legendary’ trafficker and cartel leader Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada was arrested in the United States.

Some 53 people have been killed and 51 others are missing in Mexico's western Sinaloa state since rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel began clashing on Sept 9, local authorities said on

Two warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel appear to be fighting for power since two of its leaders were arrested in the U.S.