Culiacan: A dramatic shootout at an airport terrified passengers as authorities attempted to apprehend a son of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, according to the Mexican government. Ten soldiers and 19 suspected criminals were also killed in the operation.

The enraged gunmen went on the rampage to try to free their boss, leaving the Sinaloa cartel stronghold of Culiacan like a war zone. Thousands of soldiers retook control of the area.

On Thursday, Ovidio Guzmán was arrested in the city in the northwest. He was then taken to Mexico City and sent to the high-security Altiplano prison in the center of Mexico, from where "El Chapo" escaped in 2015.

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The 32-year-old, known as "El Raton" (The Mouse), is accused of assisting his father in managing the business since the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel was extradited to the US in 2017.

According to Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval, one of those attacking the team after the arrest included a colonel who oversaw an infantry battalion.

While 21 gunmen were detained, another 35 soldiers with gunshot wounds were taken to hospital. According to Sandoval, as cartel goons attempted to free Ovidio Guzmán, two Mexican Air Force planes as well as a passenger plane that was about to take off from Culiacan International Airport were attacked.

According to Sandoval, the military plane "had to make an emergency landing" after suffering "a significant number of impacts".
There were no injuries in the airstrikes and Culiacan airport resumed operations on Friday.

A reward of up to $5 million was offered by the US for information resulting in the arrest of Ovidio Guzman. He is accused of being a key figure in his father's Sinaloa Cartel.

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The arrests came as Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was getting ready to welcome his US counterpart Joe Biden to a summit of North American leaders next week with security a top concern.

According to US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, the capture of the drug trafficker was "not an insignificant achievement by the Mexican authorities."
And we certainly appreciate that," he said, adding that the United States and Mexico would continue to cooperate "in lockstep," particularly with regard to combating the trafficking of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Mexico denied claims that it participated in the operation to capture Ovidio Guzmán on behalf of the United States. López Obrador told reporters, "We take independent, self-directed actions. Cooperation exists and will exist in the future, but we decide as a sovereign government."

After security forces removed dozens of stolen and burnt vehicles from Culiacan's city of 800,000 people, he claimed peace had returned.

Social media videos On Thursday, footage from Culiacan airport showed passengers and Aeromexico employees hiding behind counters as gunfire rang out.
At several intersections in the city, cartel gunmen opened fire on cars and trucks, and authorities reported 19 roadblocks.

El Chapo is currently serving a life sentence in the US for transporting hundreds of tons of drugs over a period of 25 years.

His cartel, which is still one of the most powerful in Mexico, has been accused by Washington of spreading fentanyl, a synthetic drug that is about 50 times cheaper than heroin, fueling an opioid epidemic throughout American communities. times more powerful.

According to the US State Department, Ovidio Guzmán and one of his brothers are accused of planning to smuggle in cocaine and marijuana, along with managing about a dozen methamphetamine manufacturing facilities in Sinaloa.

According to the report, Ovidio Guzmán is also accused of ordering the murder of informants, a drug dealer and a Mexican singer who refused to sing at his wedding. He was freed by security forces after his cartel launched a full-scale war after he was briefly held before 2019.

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His release drew harsh criticism from López Obrador, who claimed the election was made to save the lives of civilians. Ovidio Guzmán is expected to face legal proceedings in Mexico, according to Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who has played down the possibility of a fast-track extradition.

Since the government controversially sent troops to fight drug cartels in 2006, Mexico has recorded more than 340,000 murders, most of which have been attributed to criminal gangs.