At least 19 suspected criminals and 10 soldiers died as a result of the arrest of drug trafficker Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Joaquín
El Chapo
Guzmán Loera, as reported this Friday by the Secretary of Defense, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, during a press conference at the National Palace. .
According to Sandoval, they all died during a confrontation with the Army.
There were no reports of civilian deaths.
The violent wave on Thursday in the state of Sinaloa also left 21 people arrested, as well as vehicles and weapons seized.
López Obrador denied this Friday that the United States had participated in the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of "Chapo" Guzmán most wanted by Washington, and that the capture is related to the visit of Joe Biden.
Jose Mendez / EFE
Earlier, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, defended the federal government operation in Culiacán to capture alias El ratón, who spent his first night detained in the Mexican prison where his father escaped.
[The arrest of Ovidio Guzmán: a "silent turn" in AMLO's "hugs and not bullets" strategy]
The president described the operation as "responsible" and sent words of solidarity for the inhabitants of Sinaloa, who lived a dramatic and violent day during the detention.
"We are going to report first about what happened yesterday in Sinaloa, it was already reported at noon yesterday, the security cabinet did it and today we will also be constantly reporting, especially for the peace of mind of the population in general, and especially to the people of Sinaloa that we send them our solidarity, our support, so that they can recover normalcy as soon as possible," López Obrador said at a press conference.
Recapture of Ovidio Guzmán, son of 'El Chapo', unleashes violence in Sinaloa, Mexico
Jan 6, 202301:14
"Everything is being done for that purpose and what is going to be reported
has to do with the responsible way in which they acted to care for the civilian population
, so that there were no innocent victims," he added.
López Obrador also denied this Friday that the United States had participated in the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of
El Chapo
most wanted by Washington, and that the capture is related to Joe Biden's visit next week.
"People took notice"
López Obrador assured that the risk to the population during the operation was much lower than when Ovidio Guzmán was captured for the first time, in October 2019, an event that produced a violent reaction from the Sinaloa Cartel and forced the government to release the
Shorty
hours later.
The first images of the transfer of Ovidio Guzmán, the son of 'El Chapo', come to light
Jan 6, 202300:26
"The risk was lower for the population. The last time it was in the middle of the city and at 3:00 in the afternoon. Another completely different situation. Direct and serious attacks on the public (there were) few (from the criminals)" said the president.
"People behaved very well, because the governor informed them on time and asked them not to go out, to protect themselves. People listened," he added.
The president said that a possible extradition of Ovidio Guzmán to the United States could only be carried out after due judicial process on Mexican soil.
"It's not a
fast track
process . We'll send it to you there. They did that in Zedillo's time, in other times. Here there is a true rule of law that must be respected," AMLO said.
This is a developing story.
Please check back for updates.