Ten security officers and 19 criminals were killed in Mexico in violence during the arrest of drug cartel leader Ovidio "El Raton" Guzman Lopez in the state of Sinaloa, Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Sandoval said on Friday
MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th January, 2023) Ten security officers and 19 criminals were killed in Mexico in violence during the arrest of drug cartel leader Ovidio "El Raton" Guzman Lopez in the state of Sinaloa, Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Sandoval said on Friday.
"A significant number of criminal cells managed to team up with the intention of rescuing Ovidio N. and attacked soldiers on the site (of Guzman's detention) in Jesus Maria, where, unfortunately, seven soldiers were killed and nine were wounded. Given that the aggressors were using 50 caliber machine guns, the personnel involved in the operation required air fire support to guarantee the safety of the soldiers," Sandoval told a press conference.
According to the minister, during the ensuing aggression in the municipalities of Escuinapa and Culiacan, three more soldiers were killed and nine were wounded during the day. The minister added that there were no civilian deaths.
As a result of the operation, authorities managed to detain 21 suspected members of the Sinaloa Cartel, seize 53 vehicles, including 26 armored vehicles, as well as dozens of rifles and machine guns. At least 19 cartel members were killed in the shootings, the minister said.
On Thursday, Guzman - the son of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman serving a life sentence in the United States - was delivered to Mexico City and then convoyed to the maximum security Altiplano prison. The cartel once already succeeded in getting El Raton out of arrest in 2019, when the standoff between government and cartel forces left nine people killed and 23 others injured, prompting President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to order for Guzman junior's release.
Over 3,500 troops, including special forces and paratroopers, as well as about 1,000 National Guard troops, were sent to Sinaloa to support local forces in the new standoff on Thursday.
According to local authorities, the cartel hijacked or burned about 250 cars. Security services blocked at least 18 streets and halted the operation of three airports. Local media reported, citing a source at the Culiacan airport, that the cartel fired large-caliber weapons at two helicopters and a Mexican air force transport plane, prompting the latter to burst into flames during landing due to engine damage.
Guzman is on the list of criminals to be extradited to the US, where he is accused of trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana. Mexico's Foreign Ministry said that the request for his extradition to the US has been valid since 2019, but Mexico also has ongoing criminal cases in which he must be prosecuted.
