Mexican security forces captured Guzmán, the 32-year-old son of detained boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in the early hours of Thursday morning, sparking hours of riots and gunfights with gang members, the Mexican security minister said. Defense Luis Crecencio Sandoval.
He added that Guzmán was taken by helicopter from the house where he was captured and taken to Mexico City and then to a maximum security federal prison.
The arrest prompted the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, once led by El Chapo himself, to set fire to cars, block roads and attack security forces in and around Culiacan.
The defense ministry chief added in a press conference that 21 more people were arrested during the operation on Thursday, while there were no reports of civilian deaths.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said there were no plans to extradite Ovidio to the United States any time soon, where his father is in a maximum security prison after being extradited in 2017 and found guilty in a New York court.
A heightened security presence will remain in Sinaloa on Mexico’s Pacific coast for the time being to protect the population, with another 1,000 soldiers deployed in the region, Sandoval said.
States have been asking for Guzmán’s extradition for years. In 2021, the State Department announced a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Guzman, known by his nickname “Mouse”, was charged in the United States with conspiracy to traffic cocaine, methamphetamines and marijuana into the United States. Mexican drug lord ran meth labs in Sinaloa.
According to the State Department, there is information that he ordered several assassinations, including a famous Mexican singer who refused to perform at his wedding.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration believes the Sinaloa Cartel, along with another gang, is responsible for most of the fentanyl in the US.
