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 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.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

An elephant arrives at its new home in Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, after being transported from Ostok Sanctuary in the outskirts of Culiacan, 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 lioness looks out from inside a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Ostok Sanctuary staff members move animals into trucks to transport them to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, from the refuge in the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Ostok Sanctuary animal sanctuary staff prepare a jaguar to be transferred, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

A staff membergives an elephant water at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

An elephant bird stands in its enclosure at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

A lioness rests inside a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

An elephant stands in a transport trailer at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Staff members carry a jaguar in a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Ostok Sanctuary staff members transport animals in trucks 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)

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)

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 lioness is carried to a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.

The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.

Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.

In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.

Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”

Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.

Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.

South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.

South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.

Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.

On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.

No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.

After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.

Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)