Mexican drug cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was arrested, unleashing a violent backlash by gang gunmen on Thursday. The airport in the city of Culiacan was closed down and authorities told residents to stay indoors. Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval told a news conference that security forces had captured the 32-year-old senior member of the Sinaloa Cartel reuters.com tells us.
The arrest comes three years after an attempt to detain him ended in humiliation for the government. Ovidio, who has become a key figure in the cartel since the arrest of his father, was briefly detained in 2019 but was quickly released to end violent retribution in Culiacan from his gang. The incident was an embarrassing setback for the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. His latest capture comes before a North American leaders’ summit in Mexico City next week, which U.S. President Joe Biden will attend as security issues are on the agenda. (Reuters, January 2023)
Reports and images on social media suggest a shoot-out took place before the arrest while parts of the city were blocked off by armed police and burning vehicles were blocking several exits from the city. According to reports from local news outlet La Jornada, the hunt for and detainment of Guzmán caused blockades in several different streets of Culiacán. There are also incidents involving armed police in different parts of the city.
Secretary of Public Security in Sinaloa, Cristobal Castañeda Camarillo, had asked the population of the state capital not to leave until the situation had been brought under control. “Vehicle looting and blockades are being presented in different parts of the city, we ask citizens not to leave, we are acting accordingly, and we will inform when we are able to,” said Cristobal Castañeda Camarillo, Secretary of Public Security in Sinaloa, tweeted in Spanish. The Secretary of Education published an announcement of a suspension in classes so as not to put the population at risk. Ovidio Guzmán López is said to have taken a top role in the Sinaloa cartel following his father’s capture. (Mirror.co.uk, January 2023)
Guzmán was captured by Mexican armed forces in an overnight raid. He was transported by military aircraft from Culiacán back to Mexico City late morning on Thursday. Officials said the operation had been in the works for more than six months. The arrest was also confirmed to ABC News by a U.S. law enforcement official.