Pages

Friday 18 October 2019

Mexican government arrests jailed drug lord El Chapo's son only to be forced to RELEASE him after drug cartel launches all-out WAR on the streets of their stronghold city

Image result for Mexican government arrests jailed drug lord El Chapo's son only to be forced to RELEASE him
Via - Dailymail

Mexican security forces were forced to release one of drug lord El Chapo's sons and retreat after heavily armed cartel fighters surrounded them and launched a war across the city of Culiacan. 
The brief apprehension of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, triggered a raging gun battle on Thursday in the city that is home to the notorious drug kingpin's Sinaloa cartel.
Mexican Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said 30 members of the National Guard militarized police were patrolling an area in the city, 370 miles northwest of Mexico City, when they were fired on from a house. 
Authorities fired back and were eventually able to enter the house where they found four cartel members inside, including Ovidio Guzman, who is accused of drug trafficking in the U.S.   
Heavily armed gunmen quickly surrounded the home in retaliation and an intense, hours-long gunfight broke out as the civilians loyal to the drug lord opened fire on the security forces. 
The patrol was eventually overpowered by the cartel gunmen and the decision was taken to set Ovidio Guzman free from the house and to withdraw to protect the lives of the National Guard and restore calm in the city, Durazo said. 

A lawyer for El Chapo's family, José Luis González Meza, said that Guzmán's family had told him 'Ovidio is alive and free' but that he had no more details about what had happened.  
His current whereabouts are unknown.  
The brief apprehension of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, triggered a raging gun battle on Thursday in the Mexican city of Culiacan
The brief apprehension of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, triggered a raging gun battle on Thursday in the Mexican city of Culiacan
Cartel gunmen are seen outside during clashes with federal forces following the detention of Ovidio Guzman, son of drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico October 17, 2019
Cartel gunmen are seen outside during clashes with federal forces following the detention of Ovidio Guzman, son of drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico October 17, 2019
Following the apprehension of Ovidio on Thursday, Culiacan exploded in violence with armed civilians in trucks roaring through the city's center shooting what appeared to be .50-caliber sniper rifles and machine guns
Following the apprehension of Ovidio on Thursday, Culiacan exploded in violence with armed civilians in trucks roaring through the city's center shooting what appeared to be .50-caliber sniper rifles and machine guns 
Cartel gunmen are seen near a burning truck during clashes with federal forces following the detention of Ovidio Guzman on Thursday
Cartel gunmen are seen near a burning truck during clashes with federal forces following the detention of Ovidio Guzman on Thursday
The civilian gunmen blocked a number of city streets with burning vehicles, which is a common tactic to make it difficult for authorities to maneuver
The civilian gunmen blocked a number of city streets with burning vehicles, which is a common tactic to make it difficult for authorities to maneuver 
Ovidio Guzman
Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman
Ovidio Guzman (left), along with his brothers, is believed to be influential in the cartel since their father, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, (right) was jailed in the United States
Ernesto Martínez, a local crime reporter, told the New York Times that the shootout came in two blasts. One started at 3.30pm and went on for around 20 minutes before a second one erupted. 
The second gun battle went on late into Thursday evening and lasted for four hours. 
Riodoce reported that gunmen had blocked entrances to the city with burning vehicles, a common tactic to make it difficult for security forces to maneuver. 
Ovidio, along with his brothers, is believed to be influential in the cartel since their father was jailed for life in the United States. 
Despite the reaction to his arrest, Ovidio is not one of El Chapo's best-known sons.
Iván Archivaldo Guzmán and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán are known as 'los Chapitos', or 'the little Chapos', and are believed to currently run their father's Sinaloa Cartel together with Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada. 
Following the apprehension of Ovidio on Thursday, Culiacan exploded in violence with armed civilians in trucks roaring through the city's center shooting what appeared to be .50-caliber sniper rifles and machine guns. 
An armored vehicle with bullet impacts on the windscreen sits on a street after clashes between armed groups and Federal Forces in Culiacan
An armored vehicle with bullet impacts on the windscreen sits on a street after clashes between armed groups and Federal Forces in Culiacan
Unidentified gunmen block a street in Culiacan, Mexico. State police said there were no confirmed deaths from the afternoon of fighting, but photos showed a number of blood-covered bodies strewn across various streets
Unidentified gunmen block a street in Culiacan, Mexico. State police said there were no confirmed deaths from the afternoon of fighting, but photos showed a number of blood-covered bodies strewn across various streets
People can be seen running to take cover with their children during a shootout in Culiacan, Mexico yesterday
People can be seen running to take cover with their children during a shootout in Culiacan, Mexico yesterday
Footage on social media showed scenes resembling a war zone as masked gunmen rode on the back of trucks firing mounted machine guns as vehicles burned. 
People could be seen running for cover as machine gun fire rattled around them. Drivers drove in reverse frantically to get away from the clashes.  
State police said there were no confirmed deaths, but photos showed a number of blood-covered bodies strewn across various streets. 
Sinaloa public safety director Cristóbal Castañeda told Milenio television that there were people wounded but did not provide a casualty figure. 
Cristóbal Castañeda told the Televisa network that two people had been killed and 21 injured, according to preliminary information. He said police had come under attack when they approached roadblocks manned by gunmen. He advised residents not to leave their homes.
Unconfirmed reports from Sinaloa have claimed 39-year-old Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, El Chapo’s eldest son, has been killed or captured by Mexican authorities. 
Some claim he too was briefly in custody but either escaped or was released.
Dead bodies were strewn across streets following the clashes despite state police saying there were no confirmed deaths
Dead bodies were strewn across streets following the clashes despite state police saying there were no confirmed deaths  
Other officials said there were people wounded but did not give a casualty figure. A dead body is pictured above lying on the road by a car
Other officials said there were people wounded but did not give a casualty figure. A dead body is pictured above lying on the road by a car 

The President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador arrives at the International Airport of Oaxaca, Mexico, 17 October 2019
The President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador arrives at the International Airport of Oaxaca, Mexico, 17 October 2019
State police said several prisoners escaped from prison during the chaos. Video footage showed a group of between 20 to 30 people running in the streets. 
It was not immediately clear how they escaped from prison. Sinaloa public safety director Cristóbal Castañeda told Milenio television that some of the prisoners were quickly recaptured.  
Vehicles and a petrol station were also set on fire as the cartel gunmen roamed the city.
Vehicles with bullet holes sit on a street after clashes between armed groups and Federal Forces in Culiacan
Vehicles with bullet holes sit on a street after clashes between armed groups and Federal Forces in Culiacan
Civilians hid in the aisles of a supermarket, while others ran for cover in leafy suburban streets. 
Sinaloa's soccer club Dorados announced that it had cancelled its game on Thursday due to security concerns. 
The chaotic scenes in Culiacan, long a stronghold for the Guzmans' Sinaloa cartel, will increase pressure on President Lopez Obrador, who took office in December promising to pacify a country weary after more than a decade of drug-war fighting. 
Chaos ensues after El Chapo's son is arrested in Mexico City

Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
0:00
Previous
Play
Skip
Mute
Current Time0:00
/
Duration Time2:30
Fullscreen
Need Text
Heavily armed civilians in trucks were firing in downtown Culiacan, with some shooting what appeared to be .50-caliber sniper rifles and truck-mounted machine guns

Heavily armed civilians in trucks were firing in downtown Culiacan, with some shooting what appeared to be .50-caliber sniper rifles and truck-mounted machine guns
Heavily armed civilians in trucks were firing in downtown Culiacan, with some shooting what appeared to be .50-caliber sniper rifles and truck-mounted machine guns

Heavily armed civilians in trucks were firing in downtown Culiacan, with some shooting what appeared to be .50-caliber sniper rifles and truck-mounted machine guns
Footage on social media showed scenes resembling a war zone as masked gunmen rode on the back of trucks firing mounted machine guns as vehicles burned
Footage on social media showed scenes resembling a war zone as masked gunmen rode on the back of trucks firing mounted machine guns as vehicles burned 
Vehicles and a petrol station were set on fire as the cartel gunmen roamed the city
Vehicles and a petrol station were set on fire as the cartel gunmen roamed the city
Murders this year are set to be at a record high. 
Sinaloa is home to the cartel by the same name, which was led by El Chapo. 
He led the Sinaloa cartel for decades, escaping from prison twice before being arrested and extradited to the United States. 
He was found guilty in a U.S. court in February of smuggling tons of drugs and sentenced to life in prison.  
After Guzmán's third arrest in 2016, an internal battle for succession began playing out. 
The battle was resolved with the arrest of Damaso López Nunez and his son Dámaso López Serrano, who led a rival faction.
The cartel is currently led by Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada with three of Guzman's sons Ivan, Archivaldo and Alfredo.
He is believed to have about 12 children including Ovidio.
The U.S. Department of Justice unveiled an indictment against Ovidio and another of the brothers - Joaquín Guzmán López - in February. 
They are charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana in the United States.  
The indictment gave Ovidio's age as 28 and said he had been involved in trafficking conspiracies since he was a teenager. 
Vehicles burn in a street of Culiacan, state of Sinaloa, Mexico, on Thursday as heavily armed gunmen in four-by-four trucks fought an intense battle against Mexican security forces
Vehicles burn in a street of Culiacan, state of Sinaloa, Mexico, on Thursday as heavily armed gunmen in four-by-four trucks fought an intense battle against Mexican security forces
The patrol was eventually overpowered by the cartel gunmen and the decision was taken to withdraw to protect the lives of the National Guard and restore calm in the city
The patrol was eventually overpowered by the cartel gunmen and the decision was taken to withdraw to protect the lives of the National Guard and restore calm in the city
People could be seen running for cover as machine gun fire rattled around them. Drivers drove in reverse frantically to get away from the clashes
People could be seen running for cover as machine gun fire rattled around them. Drivers drove in reverse frantically to get away from the clashes
A bullet riddled vehicle remains in a street of Culiacan following the intense gun battle
A bullet riddled vehicle remains in a street of Culiacan following the intense gun battle

COLORFUL TALES FROM EL CHAPO

Here are some of the most colorful tales from the trial of ex-Sinaloa Cartel boss, El Chapo:
HIS OWN WORDS
* Guzman's voice was 'sing-songy' with a 'nasally undertone,' said FBI agent Steven Marston. In one recorded call, Guzman tells an associate, 'Don't be so harsh... take it easy with the police.' The partner responds: 'You taught us to be a wolf.'
* Text messages between Guzman and his wife, Emma Coronel, often turned to family matters. 'Our Kiki is fearless,' Guzman wrote in one, referring to one of their daughters. 'I'm going to give her an AK-47 so she can hang with me.'
* After Coronel said she saw a suspicious car, Guzman wrote to her, 'You go ahead and lead a normal life. That's it.' Later he reminds her: 'Make sure you delete everything after we're done chatting.'
* In one of the trial's final days, Guzman told the judge he would not testify in his own defense. The same day, he grinned broadly at audience member Alejandro Edda, the Mexican actor who plays Guzman in the Netflix television drama 'Narcos.' 
LOVERS AND BUSINESS
* Multiple 'wives' visited Guzman when he was hiding in Sinaloa, said Alex Cifuentes, a former close partner.
* Lucero Sanchez Lopez, a former Mexican lawmaker, told jurors she once had a romantic relationship with Guzman, who sent her to buy and ship marijuana. 'I didn't want for him to mistrust me because I thought he could also hurt me,' she said. 'I was confused about my own feelings over him. Sometimes I loved him and sometimes I didn't.'
* Agustina Cabanillas, a partner of Guzman who called him 'love,' set up drug deals by passing information between Guzman and others. In one message, Cabinillas called Guzman a 'jerk' who was trying to spy on her. 'Guess what? I'm smarter than him,' she wrote.
HIGH LEVELS OF CORRUPTION
* Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel paid bribes, some in the millions of dollars, to Mexican officials at every level, said Jesus Zambada, the brother of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who worked alongside El Chapo and is still at large.
* Beneficiaries included a high-ranking police official who fed Guzman information on police activities 'every day,' said Miguel Angel Martinez, a former cartel manager.
* Guzman once paid $100 million to former President Enrique Pena Nieto, Cifuentes said. Pena Nieto has denied taking any bribes.
* When imprisoned in Mexico in 2016, Guzman bribed a national prison official $2 million to be transferred to a different facility, but the move was unsuccessful. 
MURDER
* After a rival cartel member declined to shake Guzman's hand, he ordered the man killed, fueling a war between the cartels, Zambada said.
* When assassins reporting to Guzman killed a police official who worked for a rival, Zambada said, they lured him out of his house by pretending they had hit his son with a car.
* Guzman ordered Cifuentes to kill the cartel's communications expert after learning he was cooperating with the FBI. But Cifuentes said he was unable to carry out the hit because he did not know the man's last name.
* When Damazo Lopez Nunez, a top lieutenant to Guzman, told his boss that a Mexican mayor wanted them to 'remove' a troublesome police officer, Guzman told him they should do her the favor because the mayor was a favorite for an upcoming state election, Lopez testified. He said Guzman told him to make the killing look like revenge from a gang member.
* Lopez also said Guzman's sons killed a prominent reporter in Sinaloa because he published an article about cartel infighting against their wishes.
* One of Guzman's former bodyguards, Isaias Valdez Rios, said he watched his boss personally kill three rival cartel members. Guzman shot one of them and ordered his underlings to bury the man while he was gasping for air. On another occasion, Guzman tortured two men for hours before shooting them each in the head and ordering their bodies tossed into a flaming pit.
SAFE HOUSES AND ESCAPES
* For a period of Guzman's time as a fugitive in Sinaloa, in northern Mexico, his posse lived in 'humble pine huts' with tinted windows, satellite televisions and washer-dryers, Cifuentes said. About 50 guards formed three rings around the homes to keep watch.
* Guzman escaped into a tunnel hidden beneath a bathtub when U.S. agents raided one of his homes in 2014, said Sanchez, his lover. She followed Guzman, who was completely naked, into the passage, feeling water trickle down her legs. 'It was very dark and I was very scared,' she said.
* Guzman's wife helped her husband tunnel out of a Mexican prison in 2015 by passing messages to his associates, Lopez testified. She unsuccessfully tried to help him duplicate the escape when he was captured the next year.

No comments:

Post a Comment