MEXICO CITY — Mexican security forces arrested cartel leader Ovidio Guzmán, son of jailed drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, on Thursday. said the country’s defense minister.
Guzmán’s detention in Culiacán, the capital of the northwestern state of Sinaloa, the heart of Mexico’s drug trade, follows his brief detention in 2019.
News of Thursday’s arrest sparked violent reprisals across Sinaloa.
What is known about Guzmán’s role after the arrest of El Chapo?
Guzmán, nicknamed “El Ratón,” became a high-level leader in the Sinaloa Cartel after his father’s arrest in 2016 and extradition in 2017. Guzmán and his brothers, known as Los Chapitos, emerged as leaders of one of the four factions in the cartel.
El Chapo’s arrest also led to the intensification of bloody clashes with the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), which had split from the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010.
What happened during Guzmán’s detention in 2019?
Authorities’ botched arrest of Guzmán in October 2019 embarrassed the government and highlighted challenges in cracking down on the cartels, which control large swaths of Mexico.
At the time, hundreds of cartel henchmen overwhelmed security forces in Culiacán, with scenes of the ensuing urban warfare shared in real time by terrified civilians on social media.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said months later that he personally ordered Guzmán’s release to protect the population.
Why is there a US$5 million reward for Guzman?
The United States has sought Guzman’s extradition for years.
In December 2021, the Department of State Announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Guzmán and each of the Chapitos.
Guzmán has been charged in the United States with conspiracy to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States. The State Department said Guzmán oversees methamphetamine labs in Sinaloa responsible for producing “3,000 to 5,000 pounds” of the drug per month.
The State Department also said information indicated it had ordered multiple killings, including that of a popular Mexican singer who had refused to sing at his wedding.
growing flows of the synthetic opioid fentanyl to the United States, where it has promoted record overdose deathsthey have increased the pressure to capture Guzmán.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration considers the Sinaloa Cartel, along with the CJNG, to be responsible for most of the fentanyl within the United States.
Last September, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram called the two cartels the «most urgent threat to our communities, our children and our families.»
What does the arrest of Guzmán mean for the government?
While López Obrador took office in 2018 vowing to shift from a tough-on-crime security approach to one that tackles the root causes of violence, homicides are near record levels.
López Obrador’s decision to back down from threats of violence from the Sinaloa Cartel in 2019 sparked criticism that he was soft on drug gangs. Guzmán’s arrest on Thursday could indicate that the government is willing and able to deal with them.
The capture comes at an opportune moment before a summit between López Obrador, US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau next week in Mexico City.
Washington has pressed Mexico to do more to stop cartels and the flow of drugs like fentanyl across the US-Mexico border, under López Obrador. promising in October to «take on fentanyl in full force.»