The arrest in Mexico of Ovidio Guzmán, a son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, sparked deadly riots in the northern state of Sinaloa Thursday, ahead of President Biden’s visit to the country next week.
Details: Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya said clashes left at least seven security force members dead and 21 others injured, along with eight civilians, following the arrest of the 32-year-old Guzmán, described by the U.S. State Department last month as a “high-ranking member” of the Sinaloa Cartel that his father previously led, per Reuters.
- The unrest centered in Culiacán, where the younger Guzmán was arrested. Cartel members in the city set vehicles on fire and set up road blocks, the BBC reports.
- Over 100 flights were canceled at three Sinaloa airports and gunfire hit two planes, one of which was about depart, according to the BBC.
The big picture: “El Chapo” is serving a life sentence at a supermax U.S. federal prison in Colorado after a jury convicted him in 2019 of 10 counts including continuing criminal enterprise and drug trafficking offenses.
- The U.S. State Department had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of his son, who was previously arrested in 2019.
- Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had ordered the younger Guzmán be released in 2019 “to avoid further bloodshed,” CNN reports.
