MEXICO CITY – Videos from journalists in Mexico showed Culiacán, Sinaloa, a stronghold of the cartel once headed by Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in fiery chaos following the arrest of one of his sons.
Ovidio Guzmán was captured during a pre-dawn operation north of the city on Thursday, spurring roadblocks and gunfire by alleged members of the cartel.
The Associated Press reported that Culiacán was thrust into a day of terror unlike any its residents had experienced since October 2019 — the last time authorities tried to capture the young Guzmán.
FILE - This Oct. 17, 2019 frame grab from video provided by the Mexican government shows Ovidio Guzman Lopez at the moment of his detention, in Culiacan, Mexico. Mexican security forces were forced to release the son of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman that day after his gunmen shot up the western city of Culiacan. (CEPROPIE via AP File)
Videos posted on social media showed an Aeromexico plane getting hit by a bullet during the clash between cartel members and federal authorities.
Aeromexico confirmed the incident and said no crew members or passengers were injured. The plane was headed to Mexico City.
Due to the violence, Aeromexico has halted service from Culiacán. See a video posted by Aeromexico passenger @davidtellezg below.
Passenger David Téllez told the AP that on Thursday, he and his family began making their way to the city’s airport for a return flight to Mexico City after their vacation. But not long after they set out they encountered the first crude roadblock, an abandoned vehicle obstructing their way.
Téllez turned to social media to find out what was going on and saw that the city was filled with roadblocks and gunfire.
It would be hours before Mexico’s defense secretary would confirm that the military had captured Ovidio Guzmán.
He was later taken to the Specialized Attorney General’s Office for Organized Crime in Mexico City. See video of his arrival below.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has railed against his predecessors’ aggressive efforts to capture drug lords, but his administration bagged the high-profile cartel figure just days before hosting U.S. President Joe Biden, and at least in the short term locals were paying the price.
Culiacan residents posted video on social media showing convoys of gunmen in pickup trucks and SUVs rolling down boulevards in the city. At least one convoy included a flatbed truck with a mounted gun in the back, the same kind of vehicle that caused chaos and mayhem in the 2019 unrest.
All entrances to the city were blocked and similar acts were playing out in other parts of Sinaloa.
Rev. Esteban Robles, spokesman for the Roman Catholic diocese in Culiacan, said that “there is an atmosphere of uncertainty, tension,” and that those who could were staying inside their homes.
“A lot of the streets are still blocked by the cars that were burned,” Robles said.
The Culiacan municipal government warned: “Don’t leave home! The safety of Culiacan’s citizens is the most important.” Schools, local government and many private businesses closed.
A truck burns on a street in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Thursday Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Ovidio Guzmn, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn, in a pre-dawn operation Thursday that set off gunfights and roadblocks across the western states capital. (AP Photo/Martin Urista) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
The police arrives on the scene after a store was looted in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Ovidio Guzmn, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn, in a pre-dawn operation Thursday that set off gunfights and roadblocks across the western states capital. (AP Photo/Martin Urista) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Men carry furniture after looting a store, as a truck burns on a street in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Ovidio Guzmn, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn, in a pre-dawn operation Thursday that set off gunfights and roadblocks across the western states capital. (AP Photo/Martin Urista) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
A heavily armed army convoy departs the prosecutor's building where Ovidio Guzmn, one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmn, is in custody in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. The Mexican military has captured Ovidio Guzman during a operation outside Culiacan, a stronghold of the Sinaloa drug cartel in western Mexico. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
A truck burns on a street in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Ovidio Guzmn, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn, in a pre-dawn operation Thursday that set off gunfights and roadblocks across the western states capital. (AP Photo/Martin Urista) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Men ride on a motorcycle past a burning truck on the streets of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces have captured Ovidio Guzmn, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, in a pre-dawn operation outside Culiacan which has caused a wave of violence in the city. (AP Photo/Martin Urista) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
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