Ovidio Guzman Lopez, the son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was apprehended by Mexican authorities on Thursday ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit next week.
The arrest of Lopez has sparked a wave of fatal riots across the country, with three security personnel killed in skirmishes in the state of Sinaloa. Due to the ensuing violence, airports and schools in Culiacan were forced to close.
Gang members who were enraged by the arrest put erected barriers and set fire to vehicles. They also targeted a nearby airport. Two planes were hit by gunfire, one of which was about to take off.
“As we were accelerating for take-off, we heard gunshots very close to the plane, and that’s when we all threw ourselves to the floor,” Tellez, a passenger on one of the planes, said about the incident.
At three Sinaloa airports, almost 100 flights had to be canceled
Ovidio Guzman Lopez was apprehended in Culiacán after a six-month surveillance operation. The arrest comes three years after a failed attempt to apprehend Ovidio resulted in embarrassment for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s government.
At a news conference, Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval announced the arrest of the Sinaloa Cartel’s 32-year-old senior member. Sandoval stated he had been a fugitive since the previous arrest attempt and was currently being held in Mexico City.
According to Sandoval, Guzmán-López, popularly known as “The Mouse,” purportedly commands a branch of his father’s famed Sinaloa cartel. It is one of the world’s major drug-trafficking organizations.
Videos on social media show heavy fighting in Culiacan
Heavy fighting was seen on social media in Culiacan overnight. The sky is lighted up by helicopter gunfire. (https://whatthefab.com/)
In other news, authorities said a key shooter for the Los Mexicels cartel, “El Neto,” was killed in a shooting early Thursday (January 5).
El Neto, whose full name is Ernesto Alfredo Pinon de la Cruz, had recently escaped from prison after a violent mass outburst in Ciudad Juárez early on New Year’s Day (January 1). Officials told Reuters on Friday that El Neto was apprehended by intelligence officers in Ciudad Juárez and then shot after a chase.