CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) 鈥 A pack of veterinarians clambered over hefty metal crates on Tuesday morning, loading them one by one onto a fleet of semi-trucks. Among the cargo: tigers, monkeys, jaguars, elephants and lions 鈥 all fleeing the latest wave of cartel violence eclipsing the northern Mexican city of Culiacan.
For years, exotic pets of cartel members and circus animals have been living in a small refuge on the outskirts of Sinaloa鈥檚 capital. However, between rival Sinaloa cartel factions, plunging the region into crippling levels of violence and leaving the leaders of the Ostok Sanctuary reeling from armed attacks, constant death threats and a cutoff from essential supplies needed to keep their 700 animals alive.
The aid organization left Culiacan Tuesday and transported the animals hours across the state in hopes that they鈥檒l escape the brunt of the violence. But fighting has grown so widespread in the region that many fear it will inevitably catch up.
鈥淲e鈥檝e never seen violence this extreme,” said Ernesto Zazueta, president of the Ostok Sanctuary. 鈥淲e鈥檙e worried for the animals that come here to have a better future.鈥
Cartel factions battle
Violence in the city exploded eight months ago when two rival Sinaloa Cartel factions began warring for territory after the dramatic kidnapping of the leader of one of the groups by a son of notorious capo who then delivered him to U.S. authorities via a private plane.
Since then, intense fighting between the heavily armed factions has become the new normal for civilians in Culiacan, a city which for years avoided the worst of Mexico鈥檚 violence in large part because the maintained such complete control.
鈥淲ith the escalating war between the two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, they have begun to extort, kidnap and rob cars because they need funds to finance their war,鈥 said security analyst David Saucedo. 鈥淎nd the civilians in Culiacan are the ones that suffer.鈥
Zazueta, the sanctuary director, said their flight from the city is another sign of just how far the warfare has seeped into daily life.
This week, refuge staff loaded up roaring animals onto a convoy as some trainers attempted to sooth them. One murmured in a soft voice as he fed a bag of carrots to an elephant in a shipping container, 鈥淚鈥檓 going to be right here, no one will do anything to you.鈥
Veterinarians and animals traveled along the freeway to seaside Mazatlan, where they released the animals into another wildlife reserve. Their caravan of vehicles flying large white flags, in a sign of peace, rolled past young men in black ski masks perched on motorcycles who watched them intently 鈥 a reminder of what the animals and refuge workers were leaving behind.
The relocation came after months of planning and training the animals, a move made by the organization in an act of desperation. They said the sanctuary was caught in the crossfire of the warfare because of its proximity to the town of Jes煤s Mar铆a, a stronghold of one of the warring factions.
鈥楴o safe place left these days鈥
During intense periods of violence, staff at the sanctuary could hear gunshots echoing nearby, the roar of cars and helicopters overhead, something they say scares the animals. Cartel fighting regularly blocked staff off from reaching the sanctuary, and some animals went days without eating. Many have started to lose fur and at least two have died due to the situation, Zazueta said.
Complicating matters is the fact that an increasing number of the animals they rescue are left abandoned in rural swathes of the state. In one case, a Bengal tiger was discovered chained in a plaza, caught in the center of shootouts. Rumors circulate in Sinaloa and other conflict-ridden parts of Mexico that capos feed their enemies to pet lions.
Diego Garc铆a, a refuge staff member, is among those who travel out to rescue those animals. He said he regularly receives anonymous threats, with callers claiming to know his address and how to find him. He worries he’ll be targeted for taking away the former pets of capos. Zazueta said the refuge also receives calls threatening to burn the sanctuary to the ground and kill the fauna if payment isn鈥檛 made.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no safe place left in this city these days,鈥 said Garc铆a.
That’s the feeling for many in the city of 1 million. When the sun rises, parents check for news of shootouts as if it were the weather, to determine if it鈥檚 safe to send their kids to school. Burned houses sit riddled with bullets and occasionally bodies appear hanging from bridges outside the city. By night, Culiacan turns into a ghost town, leaving bars and clubs shuttered and many without work.
鈥淢y son, my son, I鈥檓 here. I鈥檓 not going to leave you alone,鈥 screamed one mother, sobbing on the side of the road and cursing officials as they inspected her son鈥檚 dead body, splayed out and surrounded by bullet casings late Monday night. 鈥淲hy do the police do nothing?鈥 she cried out.
Displaced animals head for new refuge
In February, while driving a refuge vehicle used for to rescue felines and other species, Garc铆a said he was forced from the car by an armed, masked man in an SUV. At gunpoint, they stole the truck, animal medicine and tools used by the group for rescues and left him trembling on the side of the road.
The breaking point for the Ostok Sanctuary came in March, when one of the two elephants in their care, Bireki, injured her foot. Veterinarians scrambled to find a specialist to treat her in Mexico, the United States and beyond. No one would brave the trip to Culiacan.
鈥淲e asked ourselves, 鈥榳hat are we doing here?鈥欌 Zazueta said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 risk this happening again. If we don鈥檛 leave, who will treat them?鈥
The concern by many is that Mexico鈥檚 crackdown on the cartels will be met with even more violent power moves by criminal organizations, as has happened in the past, said Saucedo, the security analyst.
Zazueta blames local government and security forces for not doing more, and said their pleas for help in the past eight months have gone unanswered.
Sinaloa’s governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request comment.
The sanctuary made the move without any public announcement, worried that they might face repercussions from local officials or the same cartels forcing them to flee, but they hope the animals will find some relief in Mazatlan after years of conflict.
Garc铆a, the sanctuary staff member, is not so sure. While he hopes for the best, he said he鈥檚 also watched cartel violence spread like a cancer across the Latin American country. Mazatlan, too, is also facing bursts of violence, though nothing compared to the Sinaloan capital.
鈥淚t鈥檚 at least more stable,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ecause here, today, it鈥檚 just suffocating.鈥
But as the sun set Tuesday, dozens of refuge workers, families and local media gathered at an animal refuge in Mazatlan, craning their necks to catch of glimpse of trailers loaded with elephants, lions and tigers dozing and peering out curiously at the beginning of their new lives.
鈥斺赌
Associated Press videojournalist Fernanda Pesce contributed to this report from Culiacan, Mexico.
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