Mexican president blames US in part for rise in violence in Sinaloa

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says the United States is partially responsible for a wave of violence in Sinaloa state that has left dozens dead

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says the United States is partially responsible for a wave of violence in the state of Sinaloa that has left dozens dead in the past two weeks, with bodies repeatedly found on public streets and highways. López Obrador suggested during a press conference Thursday that Washington helped stir up enmity between factions of the Sinaloa drug cartel after arresting two cartel leaders in the US. On July 25, Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was arrested along with Joaquín Guzmán López, son of drug kingpin “El Chapo” Guzmán, after they landed near El Paso, Texas on a small plane. Zambada would later claim that he was “ambushed” and “kidnapped” by Guzmán López and hand-delivered to US authorities. “A group of men assaulted me, knocked me to the ground, and placed a dark-colored hood over my head,”  Zambada said in a statement released by his attorney in August, adding he was tied and handcuffed and forced into the back of a pickup, driven to a landing strip, and forced onto the US-bound private plane. It remains unclear why Guzmán López surrendered to US authorities and brought Zambada with him.