Mexican authorities have announced that 11 people were killed during a raid that resulted in the capture of Omar Oswaldo Torres, known as 'El Patas', the leader of the Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The operation took place in Culiacan, part of the northern state of Sinaloa.

The Mexican Navy stated in a social media post that its personnel were attacked at the raid site and returned fire, killing 11 'assailants'. The identities of the deceased have not yet been released. In a statement, the navy said, 'High-powered weapons and tactical equipment were seized at the scene.'

The navy added that a woman identified as Torres's daughter was also present during the operation but was released to her family due to a lack of connection to criminal activities. Torres leads the Los Mayos faction, which has been engaged in a conflict with another faction, Los Chapitos, in recent years.

This raid comes as governments across Latin America seek to deliver tangible results to U.S. President Donald Trump in the fight against crime and drug trafficking. Just last week, the Mexican government participated in a law enforcement operation with Ecuador and Colombia to arrest Angel Esteban Aguilar, the leader of the Los Lobos crime group.

Experts warn that the 'decapitation strategy', which involves capturing or killing cartel leaders, risks increasing violence in the long term as new conflicts emerge to fill the leadership vacuum. Many also point out that such militarized approaches fail to address the root causes of crime, including corruption and poverty.

Meanwhile, Trump has labeled groups like the Sinaloa Cartel as 'foreign terrorist organizations' and has indicated he would consider taking military action on Mexican soil against such groups, despite concerns that such actions would violate Mexican sovereignty. Mexican officials, in turn, have called on the U.S. to stem the flow of illicit weapons into Mexico, with little success.

Source: www.aljazeera.com