SUMMARY
The outbreak of fighting between different drug-trafficking gangs in Mexico can be understood against the background of changes in the Mexican political landscape during the last decades. During the 1980s, there was a loose network of drug smugglers controlling their own "plaza" for drug trafficking. Governmental authority was highly centralized under PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, Institutional Revolutionary Party) rule and by bribing high officials, the drug smugglers could control their businesses without getting interrupted by the authorities. When single-party rule started to give way to local opposition these networks and relationships were transformed, to the advantage of some actors but to the disadvantage of others. The drug cartels started to fight each other for control over territory and previous alliances fell apart.
The Sinaloa Cartel experienced some turmoil after the imprisonment of its leader, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, in February 2014. Guzman’s close associate Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada became the acting leader over the cartel, which was not popular with everyone within the Sinaloa Cartel. Dámaso López Núñez "El Licenciado", another high ranking leader, together with Dámaso López Serrano "El Mini Lic" formed the Sinaloa Cartel – Forces of Damaso faction and challenged Zambada for the control over the cartel’s operations in La Paz, Baja California Sur, beginning in July 2014.
A targeted killing gone wrong on 18 January 2015, where a father was killed rather than his sons, created splits within the group and two factions broke away from Damaso and started to fight each other. On one side stood the Sinaloa Cartel – El Pepillo faction, led by Jose Fernando Torres Montenegro or Jose Francisco Ojeda Torres, also called “El Pepillo”, and the Sinaloa Cartel – Los 28 faction led by the Guajardo Garcia brothers called “Los 28” on the other side.
Both of the groups used hitmen to target and execute members of the rival gang when fighting for the control of the drug trafficking in the southern zone of La Paz town in Baja California Sur. Drug dealers from both sides were repeatedly tortured and killed.
The non-state conflict between the Sinaloa Cartel – El Pepillo faction and the Sinaloa Cartel – Los 28 faction was first included in UCDP data in 2015. The violence between the two groups resulted in 25 deaths by May 2015 in La Paz town.
