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Army and National Guard strike 'Los Rusos,' Sinaloa Cartel's armed wing, in Sonora; weapons cache found
🇲🇽 Mexico /Crime & Justice

Army and National Guard strike 'Los Rusos,' Sinaloa Cartel's armed wing, in Sonora; weapons cache found

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • Mexican authorities seized a weapons cache belonging to "Los Rusos," the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel's "La Mayiza" faction, in Sonora.
  • The operation uncovered a storage center with 81 long firearms, including assault rifles and machine guns, along with hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition.
  • The seized weapons and property were handed over to the Attorney General's Office for further investigation.

Mexican security forces have dismantled a significant weapons storage facility operated by "Los Rusos," the armed contingent of the "La Mayiza" faction within the Sinaloa Cartel, in the state of Sonora. The operation, a result of four months of military intelligence gathering as part of the National Public Security Strategy, led to the seizure of an extensive arsenal.

During a court-ordered search of a property in San Luis Río Colorado, soldiers and National Guard members discovered 81 long firearms. The cache included a .50 caliber Browning machine gun, two 7.62 millimeter machine guns, one 5.56 millimeter machine gun, 72 AK-47 rifles (known as "cuerno de chivo"), one .223 caliber rifle, and four 5.56 millimeter rifles. Additionally, authorities confiscated 128 magazines of various calibers and a staggering 274,800 rounds of ammunition.

The Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) confirmed that the seized items belonged to the "Los Rusos" criminal cell, which is reportedly linked to high-profile cartel leader Ismael Zambada García, "El Mayo," and operates within Sonora. This discovery highlights the group's substantial firepower and logistical capabilities in the region.

All confiscated weapons, ammunition, a vehicle, and the property itself have been transferred to the Attorney General's Office (FGR) in San Luis Río Colorado. The FGR will now proceed with further investigations and forensic analyses to determine the full scope of the criminal activities associated with the seized materials.

Los Rusos, armed wing of La Mayiza, in Sonora.

— El UniversalIdentifying the affiliation of the seized weapons.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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