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Chaos erupts at the arrest of El Chapo’s son

Culiacán, Sinaloa — The arrest of the son of drug-lord El Chapo, left the city of Culiacán in the state of Sinaloa in chaos Thursday night after members of the National Guard were attacked.

Alfonso Durazo, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of the Government of Mexico, confirmed the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The arrest was made after elements of the National Guard were attacked from a house in the Tres Ríos subdivision.

After an exchange of gunfire, security elements managed to arrest Ovidio Guzmán López, which caused a group of armed men to surround the house “with a force greater than that of the patrol. Likewise, other groups carried out violent actions against the citizenship in various parts of the city,” he reported.

Shootings, blockages and the burning of vehicles were reported by residents of Culiacán due to clashes between alleged members of the Sinaloa Cartel and state and federal forces. The clashes occurred because of a police operation to capture two children of El Chapo, Ovidio Guzmán López and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar.

In a message, Alfonso Durazo said that during a routine patrol, a group of 30 elements of the National Guard was attacked from a house in the Tres Ríos subdivision. When repelling the attack, Durazo said security elements took control of the house where they located four occupants, including Ovid Guzmán López.

He also said that “other groups carried out violent actions against the citizenship in various parts of the city, generating a panic situation.”

President Andrés López Obrador said the security cabinet is meeting to analyze the issue of Culiacán, however, during his Friday morning address to the nation, the president announced that Ovidio Guzmán López had been released.

During his morning conference, López Obrador justified the release of Ovidio Guzmán, son of El Chapo, calling it strategic with the goal of saving many lives, thinking about the safety of the families and people of that state. They were in danger of continuing this operation, he said.

Ovid Guzmán López is wanted by US authorities on charges of distributing cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana from Mexico to that country from 2008 to 2018.