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The attorney general for the Mexican state of Sinaloa says she wants to speak with officials from a Canadian mining firm whose employees were kidnapped by a suspected faction of the Sinaloa cartel.
Sinaloa Attorney General Claudia Zulema Sánchez Kondo told reporters Tuesday that her office has had no formal contact with Vancouver-based Vizsla Silver since at least 10 of its employees were kidnapped from a home rented by the company on Jan. 23 in the city of Concordia.
“The company has not approached us. We are in the process of requesting to speak with the director of the company … so we can establish everything, ” said Sánchez Kondo, according to a video recording of her statements provided by her office to CBC News.
Sánchez Kondo said that the only communication with the company to date came through a legal representative for Vizsla Silver, who informed Sinaloan authorities about the kidnappings over a 911 call on Jan. 23.
Sinaloan authorities are also seeking information from the company on the organizational chart and the kidnapped employees roles, said Sánchez Kondo.
Vizsla Silver has not provided any missing persons reports for its employees and authorities have only received five official missing persons reports, filed by families, so far, said the attorney general.
The company did not return repeated requests for comment sent by CBC News over email and by telephone.
Paused operations in April 2025
Vizsla Silver has previously faced security concerns with its silver and gold mining exploration project called Panuco in Sinaloa. It paused field work on April 4, 2025, due to “security conditions in the area,” according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“Certain areas of Mexico, including the state of Sinaloa … have experienced outbreaks of localized violence, threats, thefts, kidnappings and extortion associated with drug cartels and other criminal organizations,” said the SEC filing.
The kidnapping of the employees has emerged among the top security priorities for state and federal authorities in Sinaloa. The state is currently in the grip of a bloody and protracted civil war within the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful drug trafficking groups in the world, that exploded in September 2024.
Mexican federal security and citizen protection secretary Omar Harfuch travelled Wednesday to the northwestern Mexican state, which has a shoreline along the Pacific Ocean, to meet with state and military officials.
Harfuch has previously said that authorities suspect a faction of the Sinaloa cartel, known as Los Chapitos, was involved in the kidnapping.
Two state-level lawmakers with the Citizens’ Movement party recently came under gunfire while travelling in a vehicle during an attack also linked to Los Chapitos. One of the lawmakers, Sergio Torres, is reportedly in a medically-induced coma.
Federal authorities recently announced they arrested one man in connection with the attack.
The Los Chapitos faction remains loyal to the sons of now-jailed Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán. They are fighting a faction loyal to the son of Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada García, who once co-led the Sinaloa cartel with El Chapo.
One of El Chapo’s sons betrayed Zambada García in July 2024 and handed him over to U.S. authorities, sparking an ongoing civil war that has left thousands dead and missing across the state.
Search warrants executed
Federal authorities have sent 1,190 troops to search for Vizsla Silver’s employees, including 270 special forces operatives, who are being supported by three helicopters and two surveillance planes. The operation is scouring remote and mountainous areas in and around Concordia, which sits about 50 kilometres east of the tourist coastal city of Mazatlán.
The employees were taken from a home rented by the company in Concordia, said Sánchez Kondo.
Harfuch’s office did not respond to a request for comment seeking updates on the federal operation.
Authorities have so far executed five separate search warrants as part of the investigation, including four in Concordia and one in Mazatlán, she said. Authorities have seized three cellphones, a laptop and identification cards belonging to the employees.
Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha said Wednesday that there have been some arrests possibly connected with the ongoing search for the missing mining employees, according to local reports.
Global Affairs Canada has previously stated that there are no Canadians believed to be among the kidnapped.
The Canadian government is preparing for a major trade mission to Mexico beginning on Feb. 15.