Drug cartel tied to El Chapo's son claims responsibility for kidnapping SIXTY-SIX people in response to a rash of home invasions by four suspects

A Sinaloa Cartel faction led by the sons of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's sons has allegedly claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of 66 people this weekend in the northern Mexican city of Culiacán.

A series of narco mantas - or banners were found hanging from four highway overpasses and bridges before Tuesday morning's rush hour traffic. The banners insisted the abductions were in response a rash of criminal incidents orchestrated by a home invasion gang, which some claim is led by law enforcement agents.

Each display featured a banner with a message signed off with the initials of El Chapo's son, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, and had the pictures of the gang's four leaders.

'This is going to happen to all the thieves in Sinaloa so that they feel what families feel when they steal their homes and invade their privacy,' the narco banner read in Spanish. 'ROBBERY, KIDNAPPING, EXTORTION, OR (collection of money for the right to operate a business) are not allowed here.

'You already know what the principles of the organization are, be clear about it. Relatives of people who are involved in these crimes avoid having a bad time and report any act of this nature. ATTN: IAG.'

Narco mantas, or banners, were spotted in the Mexican city of Sinaloa on Tuesday and addressed the kidnapping of 66 people between Friday and Saturday

e banner was signed with the initials of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's son, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, and allegedly claimed responsibility for the mass abductions 

Mexican army guard a street in Culiacán, Sinaloa on Monday, one day after a member of the National Guard was killed in a gun battle during an operation that led to the rescue of 16 people who had been kidnapped

The cartel accused Ramón Báez, a member of the Sinaloa police, and Cristián Roldan, an agent assigned to the Sinaloa State Attorney General's Office, of leading a group of invaders targeting residences throughout the state.

The kidnappings took place between Friday and Saturday, according to the Sinaloa State Attorney General's Office.

The group released 42 people on Saturday and another 16 were rescued Sunday.

Also on Sunday, a member of Mexico's national guard was killed in the region as he took part in the rescue efforts in the capital of Sinaloa state.

Eight of the kidnap victims were still missing as of Tuesday afternoon.

None of the people who were released agreed to formally accuse the abductors, said Sinaloa's public security secretary Gerardo Mérida.

Authorities did not say who was behind the kidnappings, which occurred following Thursday murder of three people in the state's Badiraguato region.

Local media outlets initially reported that the kidnappings were related to an internal conflict between 'Los Chapitos,' led by El Chapo's three sons, and the other side of the cartel, which is commanded by Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who co-founded the organization with El Chapo.

El Chapo is a former Mexican drug lord and one of the most prolific drug traffickers in history.  He is currently serving a life sentence in the US.

Narco banners were found in the Mexican city of Culiacán and showed the faces of four gang leaders tied to an allege spree of robberies and extortions invasions 

Mexican authorities have not addressed the narco banners that were found Tuesday in Culiacán, Sinaloa, 

Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, his sibling Jesús Alfredo Guzmán and their half-brother Joaquín Guzmán have been indicted on drug charges by federal grand juries in New York and Illinois.

Their brother, Ovidio Guzmán, was captured in January 2023 and extradited to Chicago eight months later.

The Guzmán brothers are accused of shipping chemicals required to produce fentanyl from China to Mexico and coordinating the trafficking of the deadly drug from Mexico to the United States.

The Drug Enforcement Administration alleges that the Sinaloa Cartel and its rival, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, are responsible for flooding the streets of the United States with fentanyl.