BAccording to the government, 29 people have been killed in the arrest of a son of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in Mexico. Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval said Friday that the dead included 10 military personnel and 19 “law breakers”.
Ovidio Guzmán was arrested in northern Mexico on Thursday, after which suspected members of Guzmán’s drug cartel fought fierce gun battles with security forces.
Ovidio Guzmán is said to have helped run his father’s drug business after “El Chapo’s” extradition to the United States in 2017. He took over part of the Sinaloa cartel and was considered one of the most important dealers in the drug fentanyl in the Latin American country. Together with his brothers, he repeatedly fought clashes with other groups within the Sinaloa cartel. The US State Department put a $5 million bounty on his head. A Washington court charged him with drug smuggling in 2018. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has now said, however, that Guzmán will at least not be immediately extradited to the United States.
According to Sandoval, the arrest of Ovidio Guzman was preceded by a six-month surveillance operation to track down the 32-year-old. He was finally caught in the city of Culiacan, the capital of the state of Sinaloa. After his arrest, Guzmán Junior was taken to Mexico City in an Air Force plane.
His father “El Chapo” was one of the most powerful drug dealers in the world. The former head of the Sinaloa cartel smuggled tons of cocaine and heroin into the US and made billions from it. He is also said to have been responsible for up to 3,000 murders. He twice broke out of maximum security prisons in Mexico. After his last arrest, he was extradited to the United States and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Next week, Mexican President López Obrador, US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet in Mexico City for the North America Summit. One of the topics at the meeting in the Mexican capital will also be the common security policy.
