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AP PHOTOS: Tigers, jaguars and elephants are the latest to flee Mexico’s cartel violence

May 21, 2025
AP PHOTOS: Tigers, jaguars and elephants are the latest to flee Mexico’s cartel violence
AP PHOTOS: Tigers, jaguars and elephants are the latest to flee Mexico’s cartel violence

CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) — A pack of veterinarians clambered over hefty metal crates on Tuesday…
AP News AP News

By  FÉLIX MÁRQUEZ

 

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 – 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 animal refuge on the outskirts of Sinaloa’s capital. However, a bloody power struggle erupted last year between rival Sinaloa cartel factions, plunging the region into unprecedented 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.

A lion sits in a cage waiting to be transported to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, at the Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A lion sits in a cage waiting to be transported to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, at the Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A staff member sprays an elephant with water at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A staff member sprays an elephant with water at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Emus from the Ostok Sanctuary sit in a truck while getting transported to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, from the refuge in the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Emus from the Ostok Sanctuary sit in a truck while getting transported to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, from the refuge in the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Staff prepare a lioness for transfer, at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Staff prepare a lioness for transfer, at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
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READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (apnews.com)

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