Nineteen believed to be the gang members of Mexican drug cartel boss Ovidio Guzman and 10 military personnel were killed in a massive violence stemmed out of the arrest of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a jail sentence, son in the northern state of Sinaloa, Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval confirmed on Friday.
Mexican security forces arrested Guzman, 32, in the wee hours of Thursday morning, leading to massive unrest that went on for hours and firing by the gang members, the minister said.
Guzman was taken in on a helicopter from the house where he was caught and taken to Mexico City, after which he was taken to a maximum security federal prison, Sandoval added.
The arrest propelled the most infamous Sinaloa Cartel, headed before by El Chapo, to go berserk and set vehicles on fire, blocking roads, and fighting security forces in and around Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, during riots.
Along with Ovidio Guzman, 21 other people were arrested during the operations, Sandoval told a news conference, also informing that there were no reports of any civilian deaths.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said there were no fixed plans to deport Ovidio to the United States, where his father is jailed in the heaviest security after being deported in 2017 and found guilty in a New York court.
“The elements (of the case) have to be presented and the judges in Mexico decide,” the president said. “It is a process…It is not just the request. No US forces had assisted in Ovidio’s capture.”
According to Sandoval, an increased security presence will now be maintained in Sinaloa, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, to protect the populace. Additionally, 1,000 additional military personnel are currently en route to the area.
Passengers on an Aeromexico passenger flight at Culiacan airport shrunk low below their seats as sounds of firing could be heard around the runway on Thursday.
According to an Aeromexico statement, one of its planes was hit by fire shots at Culiacan but no one was hurt.
The airport shut down till Thursday due to violence and was to be reopened on Friday.
Will Guzman be extradited?
The United States has been eyeing Guzman’s deportation for years so much that in 2021 the State Department declared a $5 million reward for whoever will provide information about the drug leader which could assist the authorities in arresting and convicting him.
“The Mouse”, as he is also called, has been charged in the United States with conspiracy for bringing into the United States cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana by illegal means. The State
According to the department, he was in charge of methamphetamine production facilities in Sinaloa that produced “3,000 to 5,000 pounds” of the narcotic each month.
Information, according to the State Department, also showed that he had ordered a number of murders, including the killing of a well-known Mexican singer who had declined to sing at his wedding.
Pressure to apprehend Guzman has increased as a result of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, entering the United States in unprecedented amounts and fueling a record number of overdose deaths.
The majority of fentanyl in the United States is attributed to the Sinaloa Cartel and one other gang by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
