In a stunning turnaround, on Thursday security forces in Mexico captured “one of [the] country’s most powerful drug lords” but then quickly released him after being overpowered by heavily armed cartel thugs intent on preventing the drug lord’s incarceration.
What transpired between the detention of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, the son of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and his release was a shocking gun battle that wound up encompassing almost all of Culiacan, a city recognized for being the home of the Sinaloa cartel.
SCOOP: Here is the unredacted mugshot of Ovidio Guzman, the son of convicted Sinaloa Cartel drug lord El Chapo, who was just arrested in Culiacán, Sinaloa pic.twitter.com/ILD5XICR48
— Robert Arce (@robertrarce) October 18, 2019
“Mexican Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said 30 members of the National Guard militarized police were patrolling an area in the city, 370 miles northwest of Mexico City when they were fired on from a house,” the Daily Mail reported.
“Authorities fired back and were eventually able to enter the house where they found four cartel members inside, including Ovidio Guzman, who is accused of drug trafficking in the U.S.”
But upon Guzman being taken into custody, all hell broke loose.
Culiacan, Sinaloa in Mexico is currently a war zone. I encourage everyone to go checkout the situation in Culiacan, Sinaloa online. This is after El Chapo’s son was arrested there. Praying for the people of #Culiacan pic.twitter.com/qixVKKX1Av
— James A. Langnes III (@JamesLangnesIII) October 18, 2019
“Allies of Guzman quickly flocked to the scene and ‘surrounded the house with a greater force’ than that of authorities, [Durazo] said,” the Los Angeles Times noted. “At the same time … ‘other groups carried out violent actions against citizens in various points of the city, generating a situation of panic.'”
#BREAKING : Culiacán, Mexico, – Heavy gunfire in different parts of #Culiacán after the authorities carried out an operation to detain Ovidio Guzmán López , son of ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán. Reports say he has been captured.#Mexicopic.twitter.com/vlWp5ufAsD
— Shark NewsWires (@SharkNewsWires) October 18, 2019
#BREAKING Update: Culiacán, Mexico, – Another video shows smoke covering the skyline with the sound of heavy gunfire as security forces caputred one of El Chapo’s son’s.#Culiacán #Mexicopic.twitter.com/UFnjFjzkoc
— Shark NewsWires (@SharkNewsWires) October 18, 2019
There are reports that the eldest son of El Chapo, the #Mexico drug kingpin, has been captured or killed amid gunfights on the streets of Culiacan, Sinaloa. Many cartel members are out on the streets fighting. pic.twitter.com/hiIPeAMMAZ
— Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) October 18, 2019
Scenes from Culiacán where the Sinaloa cartel is fighting the Federal Police. The gunman here is a cartel member firing what appears to be a 50mm calibre rifle. pic.twitter.com/97vKFrESEr
— ASISC (@ASISC_) October 18, 2019
Intense fighting has erupted in #Culiacán, where masked gunmen threw up burning barricades and traded gunfire with security forces after the arrest of one of the sons of the jailed former leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel “El Chapo”#السيسي_عميل_جيشنا_فين
pic.twitter.com/YCLkXf5P45— خالد نيويورك (@KhaledEibid) October 18, 2019
BREAKING: Up to 50 inmates have escaped from a prison near Culiacán, Mexico, where gunmen are fighting security forces pic.twitter.com/XtpJfeA5nb
— BNO News (@BNONews) October 18, 2019
// Raw Footage Thread – Warning
// El Chapo’s Son Has Been Kidnapped & Groups Fighting to Get Him Back
//Follow @realMeshNews for more Raw Footage as News Happens
?: u/zaxtrial#Culiacan #Culiacán #elchapo #mexico pic.twitter.com/1asVBxykZd
— Mesh Live // Raw Video & News (@realMeshNews) October 17, 2019
The horrifying violence affected everybody, from families attempting to purchase groceries to commuters trapped on the streets:
People hiding inside what appears to be a super market as drug cartel violence erupts in Culiacan, Sinaloa after the Mexican government arrested El Chapo’s sonpic.twitter.com/zUiEFffHpb
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 18, 2019
This BROKE me. “Dad can we get up now”.? #Culiacan pic.twitter.com/7uDd9HvXyx
— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) October 17, 2019
@PhillyD bro, you have to cover the situation going on in my home city #culiacan, the cartels have taken over the city and are in an all-out war against police and military. People are stuck inside of their workplaces and there is no public transport. The whole city is on fire. pic.twitter.com/YSnwuBRz3l
— ImALittleDevil ? (@Lufragami) October 17, 2019
Intense fighting has erupted in the Mexican city of Culiacán amid reports of El Chapo’s son arrest
?Hang tight Culiacan. Praying for the Mexican Army, Police, and civilianshttps://t.co/rlcpIhOKL7#K9 #dog #police #WarOnDrugs #LivePD @LivePDNation@OfficialLivePD pic.twitter.com/y46w0z6yXO— Tactical Dog (@TacticalDogLive) October 18, 2019
As well as the family members of Mexico’s security forces.
“Source tells me that family members of military personnel are being warned that truckloads of cartel gunmen are hunting for the relatives of Mexican army personnel in retaliation for the capture of El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzman, in Culiacan, Sinaloa,” investigative reporter Ryan Saavedra revealed via Twitter at 9:00 pm Thursday.
SCOOP: Source tells me that family members of military personnel are being warned that truckloads of cartel gunmen are hunting for the relatives of Mexican army personnel in retaliation for the capture of El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzman, in Culiacan, Sinaloa
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 18, 2019
Overpowered, Mexican security forces eventually capitulated to the thugs’ demands and released Guzman, a move some experts have decried for setting a “dangerous precedent.”
“The message is: the Mexican government is not in control, and it can be successfully blackmailed,” Falko Ernst, a Mexico researcher with the nonprofit International Crisis Group, reportedly said.
According to the Times, he added that “all eyes will now be on [Mexican President Andrés Manuel] López Obrador, who has frequently criticized the militarized approach of his predecessors and who has vowed instead to tackle the social roots of crime.”
“This is an extremely critical moment,” Ernst said. “If the government does not define a sound reaction to this, this might trigger imitations by others.”
Obrador — a far-left politician who’s argued that illegal immigration is a right (when in reality it’s a crime) — has for his part seemingly dismissed Thursday’s evenings as an irrelevant nothing-burger:
Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said “We’ll talk tomorrow” when asked by the press about #Culiacan. This is LITERALLY the WORST security crisis Mexico has seen in YEARS. pic.twitter.com/ukiC2pV5rk
— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) October 18, 2019
The Mexican president seems to boast a very laissez-faire/spineless attitude toward all crime in general.
When speaking last month about the growing cartel violence in Mexico, he reportedly encouraged the nation’s veritable army of drug dealers and murderers to “reconsider” their vile lifestyle and “think about themselves, their families, their mothers, their mommies.”
Earlier this week, 13 police officers were reportedly ambushed and killed in Mexico City. In response, Obrador reportedly described the massacre as “very regrettable.”
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