CULIACAN – A son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was apprehended by Mexican security forces on Thursday, marking a significant victory in the war against ruthless gangs just days before US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit.
Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval informed reporters that Ovidio Guzman, also known as “El Raton” (The Mouse), was apprehended in the northwest city of Culiacan and transported to Mexico City on a military aircraft.
He claimed that six months of intelligence effort were put into finding the 32-year-old, who is supposed to have assisted in managing his father’s operations ever since El Chapo was extradited to the US in 2017.
Ovidio Guzman was alleged to be a key member of the famed Sinaloa cartel, and the United States had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information that would result in his detention.
After the arrest, gunfire and arson rattled Culiacan. The arrest comes as Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gets ready to host President Joe Biden next week for a North American leaders summit in Mexico City, where security is anticipated to be a top priority.
According to Ruben Rocha, governor of Sinaloa state, at least 28 people were hurt in the violence, which also resulted in the cancellation of athletic events in Culiacan and the death of a member of the National Guard.
A passenger flight and an air force plane were both struck by gunfire at the Culiacan airport when Guzman’s goons responded angrily. Social media videos showed people at the terminal hiding behind counters as gunfire erupted, including travellers and Aeromexico airline staff. There were no reported injuries.
Gunmen from the cartel torched cars and vehicles on fire at many city crossroads, and the authorities reported 19 roadblocks.
El Chapo is currently serving a life sentence in the US after smuggling hundreds of tonnes of cocaine into the country over a 25-year period.
His cartel is still among the most powerful in Mexico, but Washington accuses it of using the opioid crisis as cover to saturate neighbourhoods with fentanyl, a synthetic drug that is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin.
According to the US State Department, Ovidio Guzman and one of his brothers are accused of managing up to a dozen methamphetamine manufacturing facilities in Sinaloa as well as planning to traffic in cocaine and marijuana.
Additionally, it claimed that he gave the go-ahead to kill informants, a drug dealer, and a Mexican musician who declined to sing at his wedding.
- AFP
