Mexican authorities announced today the capture of Ovidio Guzmán, son of detained drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in an operation that sparked fires, blockades and attacks in the city of Culiacán in northwest Mexico.
According to the official versions collected by the local newspaper El Universal, Ovidio Guzmán is already in the facilities of military camp 1 in Mexico City.
The shootings between drug traffickers and security forces took place in various points of Culiacán -capital of the state of Sinaloa- and circulated at the city’s airport, AFP news agency reported.
Operations at the terminal have been suspended until 10pm today (local time) and lessons at schools have been suspended.
After recording blockades and shootings in Culiacán and the nearby town of Los Mochis, sources consulted said priority federal government targets, including Ovidio Guzmán, had been surrounded.
Several trucks and cars burned on the streets of the city, where scenes of panic were observed among people who were looking for a place to protect themselves.
The governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha, previously said that the operation of the armed forces was concentrated in the area of Jesús María, municipality of Culiacán.
“This has given rise to some violent events in the capital and other places in the state,” he said on his Twitter account.
After today’s operation, Cristóbal Castañeda Camarillo, Secretary of Public Security in Sinaloa, asked the population to remain in their homes to safeguard their integrity.
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Mexico has alerted US citizens to the events in Sinaloa and asked them to avoid traveling to the area.
Ovidio Guzmán is one of the heirs of “Chapo” Guzmán, former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.
His capture comes days before US President Joe Biden arriveswho will visit Mexico on Monday for the North American Leaders Summit.
The United States has requested the extradition of Ovidio Guzmán as one of the leaders of its own criminal cell, under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel
Washington ensures that Ovidio Guzmán López, alias “El Ratón”, together with his brother Joaquín “El Güero” lead and control the drug trafficking operations of a crime cell protected by the cartel.
For this, both are formally accused of conspiracy to traffic cocaine in the United States, in a court in the District of Columbia, which also maintains an extradition request.
Ovidio’s recapture comes almost four years after the so-called “culiacanazo” of October 17, 2019, when the federal government released him to avoid major clashes with the armed commandos of the Sinaloa cartel.
The arrest of Chapo Guzmán
It was January 2016 when the last capture of Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán was reported. Three years later, on February 12, 2019, a jury found him guilty of drug trafficking.. However, his conviction came five months later.
Previously, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel had already escaped from prison twice: the first time in 2001 from the Puente Grande prison in Jalisco. Subsequently, in 2014, he was revived in Mazatlán, Sinaloa. After spending 17 months in prison, he achieved his goal once again and escaped from El Altiplano prison in Mexico State through a tunnel.
With that criminal record, New York judge Brian Cogan sentenced him to life in prison for drug trafficking in mid-July 2019. It also sentenced him to more than 30 years in prison for gun violence and another 20 for money laundering. In total, 10 charges were filed against him.
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.