The internal dispute of the Sinaloa Cartel transformed the forests of Sinaloa, Durango and Chihuahua into a war zone, marked by land mines and explosives launched from drones and small planes. This violence not only displaced thousands of families and disrupted life in communities, but caused the worst fire season in the last 10 years.
During the first half of 2025, more than 281 thousand hectares of forest burned in the Sierra Madre Occidental, more than double the 124 thousand hectares registered in the same period of 2024 and more than the 130 thousand hectares of that entire year. It even exceeded 170 thousand hectares affected in 2023, considered a critical year due to the historic drought that hit Mexico.
Violence between factions of the cartel broke out in September 2024 after the breakup between groups linked to the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. Residents report that many fires started after armed confrontations: “We saw the drone passing by, then the explosion and after a while the forest caught fire,” says a resident of Sinaloa.
Environmental organizations such as Conselva, Costas y Comunidades explain that the magnitude of the devastation is due to violence, prolonged droughts, budget cuts to Conafor and reductions in prevention and reforestation programs. Data from Conafor and Global Forest Watch show that the first half of 2025 marked the record for affected area in the region.
In Sinaloaviolence destabilized communities; Schools and clinics closed, sawmills were burned and stores emptied. In Chihuahuathe Sierra Tarahumara suffered the dispossession of land and wood, with families displaced due to fear of night raids. In Durangodrones and small planes dropped bombs on the forests of Tamazula and Santiago Papasquiaro, causing more than 40% of the fires in the region in 2025.
Security experts point out that criminal groups have adopted military tactics, using commercial drones to launch explosives and perfecting their destructive capacity. While the mountains try to recover with the rains, the charred forests and the uncertainty in the communities reflect that the conflict is not over yet.
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