Thousands protest the killing of 2 young brothers in Mexico’s troubled Sinaloa state
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/01/2025 (316 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Thousands took to the streets Thursday to protest the killing of two children in an attempted carjacking in Mexico’s troubled northwestern state of Sinaloa.
Mothers and children in school uniforms were among those calling for an end to months of cartel violence that has at times closed schools and businesses in the state capital, Culiacan.
A small group of protesters forced their way into the offices of Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha, trashing them and demanding his resignation. Rocha, a close ally of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has been unable to control his state’s violence despite the deployment of troops.
“We understand people’s outrage,” state spokesman Feliciano Castro said a short time later, noting that federal authorities were investigating the killings.
Brothers Gael and Alexander Sarmiento, ages 12 and 9 respectively, and their father were fatally shot Sunday when armed men tried to steal their vehicle. Two other minors were injured. State authorities have suggested the vehicle’s tinted windows could have been a factor, but it was unclear how.
Thursday’s march was organized by the younger brother’s elementary school.
It was a large display of public anger for a city firmly in the grip of the Sinaloa cartel. Culiacan has suffered months of intense violence as two cartel factions have battled for control since the arrests last year in the U.S. of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and one of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons.
The ongoing violence has been one of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s biggest challenges since taking office in October. Her administration is under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to reduce smuggling of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States and the Sinaloa cartel is one of the world’s largest illicit producers.
Outrage over the deaths of the children grew online this week and fueled Thursday’s march to be “more effusive, more emotional, very very sad and much harder” than other protests in the capital, said Estefanía López, of Culiacan Valiente, a collective that has organized previous peace marches.
“It took on a life of its own, I think a lot of people woke up,” López said. “The disgust … has been such that today the people came out.”
____
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america