Day 684: Infobae Analysis — CJNG Gunmen Documented on Google Street View at Tepuche Checkpoint Northwest of Culiacán, Confirming Los Chapitos Alliance Operationally Active

On June 7, 2026, Infobae published a detailed analysis of Google Street View imagery documenting an armed CJNG checkpoint in the community of Los Algodones (Tepuche sector) northwest of Culiacán, where six gunmen carrying AK-47-pattern rifles stopped and inspected the Google mapping vehicle. At least one gunman wore a CJNG-marked tactical vest ('Fuerzas Especiales Unión' insignia). The images remained visible on Google Maps for approximately one year after capture — testament to the operational brazenness of the CJNG-Chapitos alliance at the time of filming. INFOBAE ANALYSIS (June 7, 2026): Infobae presented the Street View documentation as visual confirmation of the Los Chapitos–CJNG operational alliance in Culiacán's hinterland, noting that the alliance's key facilitator — Audias Flores Silva 'El Jardinero' (El Mencho's head of security) — was arrested by Mexican forces in Nayarit on April 27, 2026 (US offered $5M reward). His removal eliminated the operational military commander most directly responsible for CJNG's Sinaloa deployments. Los Chapitos' principal leaders — Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo 'El Mochomito' Guzmán Salazar — remain at large with $10M US rewards each. CHECKPOINT SIGNIFICANCE: The Tepuche corridor northwest of Culiacán (along the El Fuerte highway) has been a documented CJNG-Chapitos forward deployment zone throughout the civil war. The visual evidence of six armed CJNG fighters conducting vehicle inspections on a public road — with impunity sufficient to allow Google's mapping vehicle to pass and record — illustrates the extent of extra-state territorial control by the allied factions. The Street View documentation is now analytical evidence alongside InSight Crime field reporting and Proceso investigations on the alliance.