War Between Los Chapitos and La Mayiza Forces Hundreds to Flee Former Cartel Haven in Badiraguato

For decades, the mountainous region of Sinaloa known as El Triángulo Dorado, or the Golden Triangle, has been a stronghold for some of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels. In particular, the municipality of Badiraguato, birthplace of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, Rafael Caro Quintero and the Beltrán Leyva brothers, was long seen as a safe haven where cartel leaders could live without fear of arrest or violence.

But according to a new report by Revista Espejo, that is changing. The violence unleashed by the war between Los Chapitos and La Mayiza has reached deep into the region, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes. Revista Espejo says violence arrived in Badiraguato in mid‑September, when residents of several towns awoke to gunfire and explosions.

“All night there were bursts of gunfire and a drone dropping explosives,” a woman in Bacacoragua, where about 20 families live, told Revista Espejo.

According to eyewitnesses interviewed by Revista Espejo, armed groups now patrol the streets of Badiraguato, control access to communities and block roads, forcing people to abandon their homes.

“The armed men are just going back and forth saying they are El Guano’s against El Músico’s,” one resident said.

Residents say clashes between Los Chapitos and La Mayiza first began about a year ago in San José del Llano but have since spread to Bacacoragua, Huixiopa and La Tuna. Residents say no authority has moved in to protect them and that the violence continues, making it impossible to know how many people have been killed or disappeared as whole communities remain under threat.

As reported by the local newspaper El Sol de Sinaloa, hundreds of people have been displaced in recent weeks. José Paz López Elenes, mayor of Badiraguato, told the newspaper that around 100 families—about 450 people including elderly, children and youth—had been forced from their homes because of escalating violence.

“We are helping all those displaced who come from the mountains and villages in that zone of the Golden Triangle,” López Elenes said. “We are doing this with great commitment because they are from Badiraguato and the governor is well informed about what we are doing.”

Some displaced families have settled in Culiacán while others remain in the municipal seat of Badiraguato where local agencies, along with state social support services, provide food, medical assistance and psychological support.

Others have taken refuge in improvised camps or with relatives, but relocating to urban areas has brought new challenges. Revista Espejo documented entire communities that have formed beside the municipal landfill in Culiacán, where hundreds of displaced people, many not included in official records, survive through informal work and meals provided by community kitchens.

As the number of displaced families grows, Infobae México reports that conditions in temporary shelters across Sinaloa are deteriorating, with local and national organizations warning of serious shortages of food, medical care and clean drinking water.