Tigers, elephants among hundreds of animals escaping cartel violence in Mexico

Not Even wild animals They are safe from Mexican cartel violence.

Tigers, elephants, lions and monkeys were evacuated this week from a refuge for wild animals in Culiacán, Sinalo, in the city overwhelmed by the weapons cartel.

Animals, some of which used to be held as pets by lords of drugs, were moved to another facility after staff faced threats and shooting – total collapse of law and order.

Associated press reports that the Ostok sanctuary, which contained over 700 animals, was forced to pack and escape after months of violence and intimidation from the rival fractions of the Sinalo cartel.

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Some animals have passed days without food. Others began to shed fur from stress. Two big cats died.

“We have never seen the violence of this extreme,” said the director of the shrine Ernesto Zazuet for AP.

This happens when the cartels are running the show and the government deviates.

For years, Culiacán was under a solid control over Kartel Sinalo, one of the most powerful in the world Drug trade organization. That “order” broke when the son of El Chapo Guzmán abducted the rival leader of the cartel and handed it over to the US authorities.

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Now the cartels are fighting for each other for the lawn. And civilians, including children and families, pay the price.

Security analyst David Saucedo said AP -in two warring fractions “extort, abduction and looting” to fund their war. Roads are blocked. The shooting happens almost daily. Parents check the news every morning to see if it is safe to send their children to school.

When the night falls, the streets are dirty. Bars near. The companies went off. Police? Mostly absent.

The coupling for the animals was sitting near Jesús María, the capacity of Kapitos, a faction led by sons of El Chapo. This made it a dangerous place to work.

According to the British mirror, exotic animals were caught in crossfire. Tigers, lions, even elephants showed signs of trauma from listening to shooting and helicopter nearby.

Some animals used to be owned by cartels. One tiger was found on the plateau during the shooting. The locals whisper that Lordi drugs feed enemies to their pet lions – a disturbing rumor that reflects how many things are broken.

The staff says that they have received threats that they will burn the shrine and kill animals if they have not been made.

“There is no safe place in this city these days,” Diego García’s rescuer told AP.

After a months -long application for help, the shrine received nothing from the Government. No authority stepped in to protect animals or workers.

The last straw came when one of the elephants of the shrine, Bireki, injured his foot. No veterinarian in Mexico Or even now they were ready to travel to the territory of the cartel to treat.

“We wondered,” What are we doing here? “, Zazueta AP said.” If we don’t leave, who will treat them? “

This led to a quiet decision to evacuate: not only an elephant, but every animal on the spot.

The white flag trucks were loaded with sedate tigers, lions, jaguari and elephants. Some workers whispered calmly to the animals, trying to ease them with stress. The convoy rolled out of Culiacán, past masked cartel look at the motorcycle and Mazatlán.

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It took several months of training and planning. But the animals did it. For now.

The staff of the sanctuary pray that Mazatlán will be a real refuge. But they know that the cartel violence has spread like a disease. And the fear is that this could follow them.

Associated Press contributed to this report.