Last Update: January 06, 2023, 22:36 IST
Mexican soldiers stand guard near burning vehicles on a street during an operation to arrest Ovidio Guzmán, son of Joaquin El Chapo Guzmán, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, January 5, 2023. (Picture: AFP)
Ovidio Guzmán, nicknamed “El Raton” (The Mouse), reportedly helped run his father’s operations since El Chapo was extradited to the United States in 2017.
Ten soldiers and 19 criminal suspects were killed in an operation to arrest Ovidio Guzman, the son of jailed drug trafficker Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the Mexican government said Friday.
Ovidio Guzmán, nicknamed “El Raton” (The Mouse) since El Chapo was extradited to the United States in 2017, reportedly helped run his father’s operations.
The government said the 32-year-old was rounded up on Thursday in the northwestern city of Culiacan and taken on a military plane to Mexico City after six months of intelligence work to track him down.
Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval told reporters, “Ten members of the military … unfortunately lost their lives in the line of duty.” He added that 19 “law breakers” were also killed in the operation.
There was a reward of up to $5 million in the United States for information leading to the capture of Ovidio Guzman. It accused him of being a key player in the infamous Sinaloa Cartel.
Gunfire and arson rocked Culiacan after the arrests, which came as Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador prepared to welcome his US counterpart Joe Biden for a North American leaders’ summit next week, Where security is expected to be high on the agenda.
Initial reports were that one National Guardsman was killed and at least 28 people were injured in the violence, while school classes were suspended.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)