Sinaloa Cartel “prince” Ovidio Guzmán, son of El Chapo, was arrested spectacularly and visibly in an obvious show of force ahead of Joe Biden’s expected visit on Sunday. Guzmán “is now being held in the Altiplano maximum security federal prison,” Officials relate, “following an intense operation in northern Mexico that led to the deaths of 29 people.”
Cartel heavy arrested for show
When the federales swooped in on cartel boss Ovidio Guzmán Thursday morning, they caused “chaos around the city of Culiacán.” Heavily armed troops locked the town down hard while they shot it out with banditos in the streets.
They also suspended all “administrative activities.” The January 5 raid was “the result of a lengthy operation which involved 200 special forces,” Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval bragged on Friday.
After the lead stopped flying, there were twice as many cartel casualties as law enforcement ones. “At least 19 suspected gang members and 10 military personnel died during violent clashes.”
Intense footage shows the moment the Mexican military comes under heavy fire from cartel gunmen. This is what the military has to deal with across #Mexico.#OvidioGuzman #Sinaloa #Culiacan #Juarez pic.twitter.com/dQxRAtLsM0
— Donkey Junk (@DonkeyJunkMedia) January 5, 2023
The battles occurred in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, “after authorities arrested Guzmán, along with 21 others.” Mexico is proud to report that “No civilian deaths or injuries were reported.”
Security was beefed up heavily at Altiplano prison because Guzmán is “a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel.” They arrested him once, back in October 2019. They couldn’t hold him. He was “released on the orders of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to avoid further bloodshed.”
CNN reminds everyone that “Guzmán’s father, ‘El Chapo,’ had escaped from Altiplano prison on July 11, 2015, but was captured and convicted in the US four years later.”
Ready for Biden visit
The timing of Guzmán’s arrest hasn’t escaped the notice of the press. The Sinaloa Cartel is known for running “one of the world’s most powerful narcotics trafficking organizations.” As CNN resident expert Gladys McCormick writes, “capturing Guzmán could be a way for López Obrador to show the US that he is in control of the armed forces and Mexico’s security situation.”
Not only that, it “also defuses the power behind any ask from the Biden administration to stem the tide of fentanyl and other narcotics across the border.” That’s basic diplomacy.
Antony Blinken put a $5 million reward out for “information leading to Guzmán’s arrest.” Mexico is expecting to get the check. After all, the cartel was acting like the George Soros of drug financing.
IT AINT SAFE IN MEXICO AT ALL, THE SINLOA CARTEL IS SERIOUS ABOUT HAVING THEIR BOY OVIDIO GUZMAN RELEASED FROM PRISON. #OvidioGuzman #elchapo #cartel #CartelDeSinaloa #Sinaloacartel pic.twitter.com/j4ojkk4F2w
— Sir Maejor (@sirmaejor) January 6, 2023
“Law enforcement investigations indicated that Guzmán and his brother, Joaquín Guzmán-López, ‘inherited a great deal of the narcotics proceeds‘ following the death of another brother, Edgar Guzmán-López.”
Once they had all that money, the cartel “began investing large amounts of the cash into the purchasing of marijuana in Mexico and cocaine in Colombia. They also began purchasing large amounts of ephedrine from Argentina and arranged for the smuggling of the product into Mexico as they began to experiment with methamphetamine production.”
Before the big raid, the brothers were reported to operate 11 meth labs. Not anymore.
