One of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaqun “El Chapo” Guzmán, Ovidio Guzmán was apprehended by security authorities of Mexico early on Thursday. The operation sparked gunfights and roadblocks throughout the capital of the western state.
Army and National Guard forces, according to Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval, have detained a “El Chapo” son. Sandoval only referred to him as Ovidio, in line with official regulations.
Ovidio Guzmán, often known as “the Mouse,” wasn’t one of El Chapo’s more well-known offspring until a failed attempt to apprehend him three years ago. Similar violence followed that effort in Culiacan, which ultimately prompted President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to order the military to release the man.
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Just a few days before López Obrador hosts US President Joe Biden for bilateral discussions followed by their North American Leaders’ Summit with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, there was a high-profile capture on Thursday. Immigration and drug trafficking are anticipated to be the two main topics of conversation.
“The Sinaloa cartel has suffered a tremendous setback, and the rule of law has won a significant win. However, it won’t stop the importation of pharmaceuticals into the United States. Mike Vigil, the former Chief of International Operations for the DEA, expressed hope on Thursday that Mexico will return the man to the United States.
Ovidio Guzmán, according to Vigil, was involved in every aspect of the cartel’s operations, including the fentanyl manufacture. The younger Guzmán was charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana in the United States in a 2018 federal indictment in Washington, D.C.
More than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the year ending January 2022, according to the CDC’s July report, the majority of which involved opioids like fentanyl produced illegally.
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The kingpin method, which was used for years to eliminate cartel leaders and resulted in the breakup of sizable cartels and brutal power struggles, was overturned by López Obrador’s security policy.
According to Sandoval, the capture came about after six months of research and monitoring in the cartel’s turf and prompt action on Thursday. Upon seeing SUVs, some of which had makeshift armor, National Guard members promptly coordinated with the army to set up a cordon around the suspected vehicles and order the occupants out so they could be examined.
The security personnel were then attacked, but they were able to take control of the situation and locate Guzmán among those present and in possession of weapons, according to Sandoval. Just days after López Obrador and Biden’s meeting, Mexico’s Rafael Caro Quintero—once one of the drug trade’s godfathers and the man accused of killing a DEA agent more than three decades ago—was apprehended.
At the time, the arrest was interpreted as a warning that Mexico would be ready to pursue prominent cartel leaders once more, something López Obrador had been reluctant to do.
