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MEXICO CITY, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Mexican information forces captured connected Thursday cause cartel person Ovidio Guzman, a lad of jailed kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, triggering a question of unit up of a sojourn by U.S. President Joe Biden adjacent week.
The unit took spot mostly successful the metropolis of Culiacan successful the bluish Sinaloa state, location to the almighty cause cartel of the aforesaid sanction that El Chapo headed earlier his extradition to the United States successful 2017.
State politician Ruben Rocha said 7 members of the information forces had been killed, including a colonel, and 21 had been injured arsenic good arsenic 8 civilians.
Rocha said determination had been 12 clashes with the information forces, 25 acts of looting, and 250 vehicles had been acceptable connected occurrence and utilized to artifact roads.
"Tomorrow we deliberation we volition beryllium capable to enactment normally," helium said, adding that helium had not discussed calling much reinforcements from the service oregon the National Guard.
A failed cognition to detain Ovidio successful 2019 ended successful humiliation for the authorities of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, aft the apprehension triggered a question of unit that forced authorities to shutter Culiacan's schools and airports.
At that time, Ovidio, who has go a key figure successful the cartel since the apprehension of his father, was rapidly released to extremity convulsive retribution from his cartel.
Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval confirmed the seizure of the 32-year-old connected Thursday, saying Ovidio was being held successful the capital, Mexico City.
Videos shared connected societal media, which Reuters was incapable to instantly verify, appeared to amusement dense warring overnight successful Culiacan, with the entity lit up by chopper gunfire.
The city's airdrome was caught up successful the violence, with Mexican hose Aeromexico (AEROMEX.MX) saying 1 of its planes had been hit by gunfire up of a scheduled formation to Mexico City. No 1 was hurt, it said.
David Tellez, a rider who boarded the level with his woman and 3 children, said they had decided to enactment successful the airdrome until it is harmless to leave.
"The metropolis is worse," helium said. "There is simply a batch of shooting and confusion."
A Mexican aerial unit level was besides changeable at, the national aviation bureau said, adding that the airdrome successful Culiacan, arsenic good arsenic successful the Sinaloa cities of Mazatlan and Los Mochis, would stay closed until information could beryllium ensured.
U.S. REWARD
Ovidio's latest seizure comes earlier a North American leaders' acme successful Mexico City adjacent week, which U.S. President Joe Biden volition be and is expected to sermon security.
The United States had offered a $5 cardinal reward for accusation starring to Ovidio's apprehension oregon conviction.
It is not wide whether Ovidio volition beryllium extradited to the United States similar his father, who is serving a beingness condemnation astatine Colorado's Supermax, the astir unafraid U.S. national prison.
A surge successful overdose deaths successful the United States, fueled by the synthetic opioid fentanyl, has led to accrued unit connected Mexico to combat organizations, specified arsenic the Sinaloa Cartel, liable for producing and shipping the drug.
The cartel is 1 of the world's astir almighty narcotics trafficking organizations.
The apprehension helps Mexican instrumentality enforcement prevention look pursuing Ovidio's 2019 merchandise from custody, said Tomas Guevara, a information adept astatine the Autonomous University of Sinaloa.
It mightiness besides herald a alteration successful attack by the government, Guevara said, aft disapproval from galore information experts that Lopez Obrador was brushed connected the cartels, an accusation helium denies.
The president argues the confrontational tactics of his predecessors were unsuccessful and lone caused much bloodshed, saying helium would alternatively prosecute a strategy of "hugs not bullets."
RESIDENTS URGED TO STAY INDOORS
The information forces attempted to power the convulsive effect to the apprehension successful Culiacan with heavy equipped teams patrolling successful pickup trucks.
"We proceed to enactment connected controlling the situation," said Cristobal Castaneda, Sinaloa's nationalist information chief.
Authorities urged radical to enactment indoors and said schools and administrative offices were closed owed to the violence. Street blockades had besides been erected.
Joaquin Guzman, 65, was convicted successful New York successful 2019 of trafficking billions of dollars of drugs to the United States and conspiring to execution enemies.
Eduardo Guerrero, manager of Lantia Consulting which analyzes Mexican organized crime, said unit from the Biden medication to people the Sinaloa Cartel had apt motivated Mexico to spell aft Guzman.
But helium warned that portion Ovidio's seizure was apt to weaken that cartel, it could assistance its main rival, the notoriously convulsive Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
"It's precise important the authorities carnivore successful caput that the weakening of the Sinaloa Cartel whitethorn besides bring astir an adjacent greater expansion, a greater beingness of the Jalisco Cartel."
Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, Dave Graham and Diego Ore, further reporting by Tomas Bravo, Kylie Madry, Jackie Botts and Sarah Morland, Writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Alistair Bell, Robert Birsel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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