Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, May 09, 2025

Son Of Mexican Drug Lord El Chapo Arrested

Son Of Mexican Drug Lord El Chapo Arrested

Ovidio Guzman: The United States had offered a reward of up to $5million for information leading to Ovidio Guzman's capture, accusing him of being a key player in the infamous Sinaloa cartel.
Mexican security forces on Thursday captured a son of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, scoring a high-profile win in the fight against powerful cartels days before US President Joe Biden visits.

Ovidio Guzman, nicknamed "El Raton" (The Mouse), was caught in the northwestern city of Culiacan and flown to Mexico City on a military plane, Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval told reporters.

He said the arrest was the result of six months of intelligence work tracking down the 32-year-old, who has allegedly helped to run his father's operations since "El Chapo" was extradited to the United States in 2017.

The United States had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Ovidio Guzman's capture, accusing him of being a key player in the infamous Sinaloa cartel.

Gunfire and arson shook Culiacan after the arrest, which comes as Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador prepares to welcome Biden next week for a North America leaders' summit at which security is expected to be high on the agenda.

As Guzman's henchmen reacted with fury, a passenger jet was hit by a bullet in its fuselage as it was preparing to take off from Culiacan airport, but there were no injuries, the airline Aeromexico said.

"El Chapo" is serving a life prison sentence in the United States for trafficking hundreds of tons of drugs into the US over the course of 25 years.

However, his cartel remains one of the most powerful in Mexico, accused by Washington of exploiting an opioid epidemic by flooding communities with fentanyl, a synthetic drug about 50 times more potent than heroin.

Ovidio Guzman and one of his brothers are accused of overseeing nearly a dozen methamphetamine labs in Sinaloa as well as conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana, according to the US State Department.

He also allegedly ordered the murders of informants, a drug trafficker and a Mexican singer who refused to perform at his wedding, it said.

Previous failed arrest

Ovidio Guzman was captured briefly once before in 2019, but security forces freed him after his cartel waged an all-out war in response.

Several people were killed on that occasion in Culiacan as gunmen launched a massive machine-gun assault, leaving the streets strewn with blazing vehicles.

His release prompted sharp criticism of Lopez Obrador, who said the decision was made to protect civilians' lives in the city of around 800,000 people.

The Sinaloa state government urged people to stay at home on Thursday following the latest arrest.

Lopez Obrador has struggled to curb the brutal violence plaguing Mexico since taking office in 2018.

He championed a "hugs not bullets" strategy to tackle violent crime at its roots by fighting poverty and inequality with social programs, rather than with the army.

The left-wing populist has asked the United States to invest in regional economic development instead of sending helicopter gunships and other weapons to take on drug traffickers.

Mexico has registered more than 340,000 murders since the government controversially deployed the army to fight drug cartels in 2006, most of them blamed on criminal gangs.

On Sunday, cartel gunmen attacked a prison in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, leaving nearly 20 people dead and allowing 25 inmates to flee.

The next day, seven people were killed during a police operation to recapture the prisoners.

The escapees included Ernesto Alfredo Pinon, known as "El Neto," the leader of a gang allied with the Juarez drug cartel.

Pinon, who had been sentenced to more than 200 years in prison in 2010 for kidnapping and murder, was killed on Thursday in a shootout with security forces, authorities said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
Depression, Fear of Defamation, and a Tragic End: New Details on Virginia Giuffre’s Suicide
“Sharia for UK, Allah Akbar!”
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Incident Reflection: A Harsh Reality Check
Pakistani migrants to Danish man: “ “We have 5 children while you have 1 or 2. In 10 years, there will be more Pakistanis than Danes here.“
Clashes Erupt in London as Tensions Rise Between Indian and Pakistani Communities
Specialized anti-drone weapons deployed among security personnel Ahead of Papal Funeral
How do you fix this culture?
×