Clashes over arrest of El Chapo’s son
Culiacan, Oct. 18: Heavily armed gunmen waged an all-out battle against Mexican security forces on Thursday as soldiers arrested — then reportedly released — a son of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman in his home state, Sinaloa.
Security minister, Alfonso Durazo, said soldiers on a routine afternoon patrol came under fire from a residence in the state capital, Culiacan.
He said they responded by taking the house and detaining four people inside, including Ovidio Guzman, one of several sons of El Chapo who have partly taken over the Sinaloa cartel since he was extradited to the United States in 2017.
Cartel gunmen then “surrounded the house, outnumbering the soldiers,” and began a massive assault on various parts of the city, Durazo said.
That triggered an hourslong battle that left blazing vehicles strewn across the street and sent terrified residents running for shelter.
“In order to protect the greater good, the people of Culiacan’s safety and well-being, the security cabinet decided to suspend said actions,” Durazo said in a video message. According to Mexican media reports, that included freeing Ovidio Guzman.
Neither Durazo nor the President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s office immediately responded to requests for further information and details on the day’s incidents remained murky.
Durazo said the security cabinet would travel to Culiacan to personally oversee the next steps.
Officials were due to give a press conference in the western city on Friday. Images carried on Mexican television showed army and police personnel under assault by men armed with heavy weapons.
Some panicked drivers abandoned their cars in the middle of the street to take cover from the deafening gunfire.
Gunmen blocked roads and highways into the evening, bringing the city of 7,50,000 people to a standstill.
Sources in the Sinaloa state government speaking on condition of anonymity said police officers had been wounded. —