“Ten soldiers unfortunately lost their lives in the line of duty,” Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval told the press, adding that “19 deaths were also recorded as a result of lawbreakers.”
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Another 35 soldiers were shot and are receiving hospital care, while 21 gunmen were arrested. There is no information about “innocent civilians” among the fatal victims.
Arrest of El Chapo's son
Ovidio Guzman, son of a drug trafficking kingpin, was arrested during an operation in the city of Culiacán, northwest Mexico, which involved intense gunfights and resulted in many vehicles being set on fire. He was captured by the Mexican Army and National Guard on charges of leading the “Los Menores faction, linked to the Pacific Cartel” and is “the son of Joaquín Guzmán Loera [El Chapo]”, who is serving a life sentence in the United States, the Secretary of Defense told journalists.
The arrest took place four days before the arrival in Mexico of American President Joe Biden, whose country was offering 5 million dollars for the capture of his son. El Chapo, known as The mouse. Biden goes to Mexico to participate in the North American Leaders Summit, with meetings scheduled on Monday (9) and Tuesday (10) in the capital, where Ovidio was transferred on an Air Force plane.
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The capture of the 32-year-old drug trafficker led to intense shootouts between criminals and security forces in various parts of Culiacán. The exchange of fire even reached the city's international airport, where a passenger plane was hit by a projectile shortly before taking off, with no injuries reported, the company Aeroméxico reported. Due to the incidents, operations at the air terminal were suspended. Incidents were also recorded in a penitentiary where several drug traffickers are held.
The Sinaloa Cartel – also known as the Pacific Cartel – is considered by the United States drug agency, the DEA, to be primarily responsible for trafficking fentanyl, a drug 50 times more potent than heroin and which has been responsible for countless deaths. overdose in the country.
Ovidio had already been detained on October 17, 2019 in Culiacán, but was released by order of Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, amid the chaos caused by the criminal organization after his capture.
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(With AFP)
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