[imagesource: Augusto Zurita / AP]

Shows like Narcos may have glorified aspects of the drug trade, to a degree, but back in the real world there are communities living in fear.

For residents of Culiacán, a city of about 800 000 in northwestern Mexico, that is most certainly the case.

The city is the headquarters of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most powerful, and brutal, drug-trafficking syndicates in the world.

If you hadn’t heard of them before, the trial of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán should have brought the cartel to your attention.

Residents of Culiacán may have taken some consolation from the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic was expected to result in a reduction of violent crime, but that has not been the case.

In fact, reports VICE News, 2020 is set to become Mexico’s deadliest year on record.

They sent a team to Culiacán to cover what the cartel’s presence means for those who live there:

[source:vicenews]