SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Two banners reportedly left behind by members of the Sinaloa cartel on Sunday in Los Cabos openly threatened the lives of Americans living or visiting Mexican destinations controlled by the cartel.
The banners, according to several social media posts and trade sites, were taken down quickly.
“It’s not true,” says Christian Agúndez Gómez, mayor of San Jose del Cabo. “We have investigated the information and determined the banners were never placed.”
Agúndez Gómez insisted that an ongoing investigation by the state’s attorney general failed to locate the threatening messages linked to organized crime.
Cartels have been known to hang “narco-banners” on bridges and overpasses with threatening messages aimed at government officials or their rivals.
“There are necessary investigations that are still ongoing. We will monitor results issued by the attorney general,” the mayor said. “Unfortunately, social media sometimes plays a role against people’s peace of mind, that’s why it’s important to verify the information with official sources before distributing it.”
Tribuna de Mexico’s newspaper in Los Cabos said it received several inquiries by the public alerting it to the existence of the banners.
It claims to have also received several pictures of the banners taken by unanimous sources.
The newspaper goes on to say it has yet to receive confirmation from any government agency about the banners’ legitimacy, something it has reported.
Border Report has also received images of the “narco-banners” that were reportedly left behind on Sunday on the roadway linking San Jose del Cabo with Cabo San Lucas. Both banners were signed by members of the “La Chapiza” faction of the Sinaloa cartel.
The banners are addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel and Terry Cole, director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Written in Spanish, the warnings say: “You will be the ones to blame. We’ll show how we’ll make this war starting 5/10/2025 on all Americans residing in areas where we have a presence … especially those living in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.”
The banners go on to say, “We are the ones who rule here and we’ll demonstrate what we are capable of if you don’t stop arresting our people and decommissioning our loads and weapons.”
While not discrediting the existence of the banners, Mexico’s attorney general in the state of Baja California Sur said between April and July of this year, 46 similar narco-banners were placed throughout the state that turned out to be “false and unsubstantiated meant to infuse fear into residents.”
Mexican officials such as President Claudia Sheinbaum were also named on the banners along with Omar García Harfuch, head of Mexico’s public safety.
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