El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzmán, was arrested in Culiacan, leading the city to become the scene of intense violence. Source: CEPROPIE.
Ovidio Guzmán, the son of the infamous drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, has been arrested in the city of Culiacan, leading to violence by gang gunmen on the city’s streets.
Defence Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval announced the capture of Ovidio Guzmán, 32. He is now held in the country’s capital, Mexico City.
Videos on social media appear to show heavy fighting in Culiacan, with helicopter gunfire lighting up the sky and vehicles being burned in the streets.
The city’s airport was also attacked, with Aeromexico, a Mexican airline, reporting that one of its planes was the target of gunfire ahead of a flight to Mexico City. Passengers took cover during the attack, though no one was hurt and the plane returned to the gate.
The country’s federal aviation agency also reported that an air force plane had also been targeted with gunfire.
The agency announced that until the situation is secured, the airports at Culiacan, and nearby cities Mazatlan and Los Mochis would be closed.
Security forces have been attempting to contain the violence, with heavily armed law enforcement trucks patrolling Culiacan and street blockades erected.
“We continue to work on controlling the situation,” said Cristobal Castaneda, Sinaloa’s public security chief.
Local government has urged people to stay indoors. Administrative offices and schools are also closed.
The arrest comes after a surge in deaths in the US from overdosing synthetic opioid fentanyl.
This has led to increased pressure for Mexican authorities to combat criminal organisations — such as Ovidio Guzmán’s Sinaloa Cartel — that are responsible for production and shipments of the drug to the US.
A $US5 million-dollar reward had been had offered by US authorities for information that led to Ovidio Guzmán’s arrest.
The DEA’s former chief, Mike Vigil welcomed Ovidio Guzmán’s arrest. He noted the significance due to Ovidio Guzmán’s particular involvement the cartel’s production of fentanyl.
“This is a significant blow to the Sinaloa cartel and major victory for the rule of law.
“It will not, however, impede the flow of drugs into the US. Hopefully, Mexico will extradite him to the US.”
Ovidio Guzmán’s father was arrested and extradited to the United States. He is currently serving a life sentence in the most secure federal supermax prison in the US.
In 2019, Ovidio Guzmán himself had been arrested. However, he was quickly released due to similar violence at the time by his gang.
