Narco Battle in Sinaloa Forces Mexican Army to Release Newly Captured Son of El Chapo

Yesterday, Mexican authorities in Culiacán, Mexico, in Sinaloa state, captured Ovidio Guzmán, a son of the imprisoned Joaquín "El Chapo" Gúzman. And then all hell broke loose.

     News accounts reported that "footage shared on social media showed vehicles on fire, carjackings, car bombings, snipers in the streets and explosions in the city of about 800,000 people. The cartel gunmen even had the audacity and the ability to set jail inmates free, according to various news reports." "Reuters reported that Security Minister Alfonso Durazo told them that 'security forces retreated without Ovidio Guzman to protect lives.'"

    Vice News reported yesterday:

     ... Chapo’s son Ovidio Guzmán was in Mexican military custody early in the afternoon. Another son, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, may also have been captured, but his status remains unconfirmed and there are rumors he may have been killed in a battle with Mexican soldiers.

     Alfonso Durazo, Mexico’s top public security official, issued a statement saying authorities encountered Ovidio Guzmán at a house in Culiacán in the afternoon, but were forced to retreat amid a shootout with cartel members. The statement acknowledged the ongoing violence in the city but made no mention of Iván Archivaldo. One Mexican news outlet reported that a lawyer for the Guzmán family also confirmed that Ovidio was freed.

Also:

      Videos circulating on social media showed utter chaos in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa and a stronghold of the state’s namesake cartel. In the footage, what appear to be cartel gunmen are seen firing heavy weapons in the streets, apparently at military or police, while panicked civilians run. Mexican police and soldiers have reportedly blocked off highways into the city and many major streets, leaving the city on lockdown.

      “The city's taken, the airport is paralyzed,” one Culiacán resident told VICE News, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of cartel reprisals. “We've never lived anything like this ever, and whoever says this is not new is lying.”

According to the article, cartel members had made threats over radio to go after the soldiers' families if Guzman was not released.

     Today, the Daily Mail reported that at least 8 people were killed, 16 injured, and at least 51 inmates escaped from Aguaruto Penitentiary in Culiacán.

    This will set a dangerous precedent, I fear.