customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

summary

updatedDate

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

The Guardian

Mexican soldiers who detained a son of the jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman forced him to telephone his brothers in a desperate effort to call off a rescue attempt by cartel gunmen.
Instead, the call triggered a fresh onslaught in the northern city of Culiacan as the Sinaloa cartel mounted a terrifying show of strength that eventually prompted the outnumbered soldiers to free the capo’s son in exchange for their lives.
The video of Ovidio Guzman Lopez’s call was released on Wednesday as part of an extraordinary government report revealing just how badly things went wrong in the failed operation on October 17.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador insisted the report would rebut the arguments of critics who say the disastrous operation has made his government appear weak and have called on him reconsider his commitment to a non-confrontational “hugs not bullets” security strategy.

#LoÚltimo Revelan videos del operativo en Culiacán, Sinaloa. Se puede ver a Ovidio Guzmán realizar una llamada, explica @Luis_C_Sandoval, Secretario de la @SEDENAmx#TelediarioEnEl6 con @anyalanis14 @liliana_sosa y @deividmedrano https://t.co/pnuX2PK3Ln pic.twitter.com/sV7uHSeDW6
— Telediario Mx (@telediario) October 30, 2019

“We want everything to be known. That’s how we demonstrate the responsibility of the actions taken in a complex, difficult, and very serious situation,” the president said.
“It’s how we demonstrate that the most important thing is to protect citizens, to protect life.”
Defence Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval described Ovidio, 29, as “one of the main traffickers” of methamphetamines and fentanyl into the United States, and said the aborted operation stemmed from an arrest warrant with a view to extradition issued on September 13.
El Chapo’s in jail, but Chinese fentanyl fuels his cartel’s business
The general said a special unit within the security forces was dispatched to Culiacan on October 9 with an arrest plan that involved the establishment of an inner and outer security cordon as soon as intelligence confirmed that Ovidio was at a house in the centre of the city.
Things began to fall apart, however, when attacks by gunmen prevented soldiers and members of the national guard from reaching their positions on the outer cordon.
Pressure increased, he said, when gunmen attacked blocks of flats occupied by the families of military personnel and took an officer and nine soldiers hostage.
Critics have argued that the authorities should have sent a larger force for the operation.

But Sandoval emphasised the gunmens’ military-grade arsenal, which included armoured vehicles, .50-calibre machine guns, and rocket launchers that hit a helicopter, and argued that to defeat the cartel force, the army would have had to use even superior firepower – which would have inevitably put civilians at risk.
The government says eight people died during the operation, though local media has put the death toll at 13.
As fighting raged across the city, it appears that the younger Guzman never left the house were he was detained.

Video shot at the property shows him passing a handgun to an associate before emerging into a garage, fiddling with a black baseball cap before soldiers back him against the wall.
With intense gunfire in the background, a soldier shouts at him: “Tell your people to stop this!” after which he is seen holding a mobile phone.
Live burials, underage sex: El Chapo trial’s most shocking moments
“Call it off, please, I’ve given myself up,” he is heard saying. “Now stop it, calm down, there’s nothing to be done … Tell them to pull back, I don’t want this,” he continues.
But the attacks continued and four hours after the operation began, officials in Mexico City ordered security forces to withdraw.

Apparently the Mexican National Guard captured today In Culiacan Sinaloa one of Chapo Guzman's son's Ovidio Guzman which has resulted in a complete war between Mexican forces and Narco's in the city's streets very graphic videos ahead #Mexico #Culiacan pic.twitter.com/IEPuzMJXMB
— Uri Herszenborn (@urihersz) October 18, 2019

Initial reaction to the report included some shock, and even admiration, that the government had been so open about such a disastrous event.
But many questions remain unanswered, including who gave the go-ahead for such an obviously badly planned operation and how the cartel obtained the intelligence to mount an effective rescue operation so quickly.
Ovidio’s father led the powerful Sinaloa Cartel for decades, escaping prison twice before being arrested and extradited to the United States, where he was found guilty in February of smuggling tonnes of drugs and sentenced to life in prison.
Additional reporting by Reuters


China’s BYD pauses Mexico factory plans until after US election

TikTok owner ByteDance’s overseas operations to get boost from US$9.5 billion bank loan

Kamala Harris defends policy shifts in first interview of US presidential campaign

Chinese retailers, once sweet on Mexico, say locals are turning sour. What changed?

Mexico

Mexico broadcasts dramatic video showing how military operation against El Chapo’s son fell apart

A still from a Mexican government video shows Ovidio Guzman Lopez at the moment of his detention in Culiacan, Mexico. Photo: CEPROPIE via AP

Screenshot of a handout video released during the morning press conference of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on October 30, 2019 by the Mexican Government's Production Centre for Informative and Special Programmes (CEPROPIE), with the security forces' face digitally altered to protect their identities, showing the moment of the arrest of alleged trafficker Ovidio Guzman, son of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, on October 17, 2019. - Ovidio Guzman -- one of several sons of El Chapo who have taken control of the Sinaloa cartel since their father was extradited to the United States -- was detained on October 17 but released soon after, after the arrest triggered an all-out gun battle on the streets of Culiacan, capital of their cartel's bastion, Sinaloa. Mexico's defence minister confirmed he was released after soldiers were overpowered by cartel gunmen, in what he admitted was a "badly planned" operation. (Photo by HO / CEPROPIE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL

Cartel gunmen are seen near a burning truck during clashes with federal forces following the detention of Ovidio Guzman, son of drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

Mexico president defends release of drug lord El Chapo’s son amid criticism

Mexican police patrol in a street of Culiacan in Sinaloa. Photo: AFP

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / View of bullet ridden and crashed vehicles in a street of Culiacan, state of Sinaloa, Mexico, on October 17, 2019, after heavily armed gunmen in four-by-four trucks fought an intense battle with Mexican security forces. - Mexican security forces on Thursday arrested one son of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in an operation that triggered fighting in the western city of Culiacan, Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said. (Photo by RASHIDE FRIAS / AFP)

Mexican drug lord El Chapo sentenced to life in US prison

A courtroom sketch depicts Andrea Velez (left), a former associate of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, reading an impact statement during a sentencing hearing in New York on Wednesday. Image: Jane Rosenberg via Reuters

Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman speaks following the sentencing hearing for his client Joaquin Guzman, the Mexican drug lord known as "El Chapo", at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

epa07722805 Emma Coronel Aispuro (C) exits after sentencing in the trial of her husband Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman at United States Federal Court in Brooklyn, in New York, New York, USA, 17 July 2019. Guzman was found guilty on multiple charges of money laundering, directing murders and kidnappings while he allegedly ran a drug cartel and sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison and ordered to pay 12.6 billion US dollars in forfeiture. EPA-EFE/PETER FOLEY

El Chapo’s wife Emma Coronel to launch fashion brand named after the Mexican drug lord

(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 11, 2019 Emma Coronel Aispuro, (C right) wife of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman leaves at the US Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. - The wife of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is to launch a new line in clothing bearing the name of the jailed Mexican mob boss, convicted earlier this year of smuggling huge amounts of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine into the United States. "I have a project for a line of clothing... It is my goal to promote my style and Joaquin's," said Emma Coronel, the 29-year-old wife of the former Sinaloa cartel boss, on her Instagram account, where she has more than 100,000 followers. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR / AFP)

(FILES) In this file US Department of Justice handout photo received February 19, 2019, Mexican drug baron Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, one of the world's most notorious criminals, is seen as he was extradited to the United States to face charges. - Lawyers for the convicted Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman requested a new trial on March 26, 2019, saying some jurors followed media coverage of the first one, violating the judge's orders.The former Sinaloa cartel chief was found guilty on February 12 of smuggling tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June and faces the prospect of life in prison. (Photo by HO / US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE/HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 12, 2019 Emma Coronel Aispuro,(C) wife of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman leaves from the US Federal Courthouse after a verdict was announced at the trial for Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman in Brooklyn, New York. - The wife of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is to launch a new line in clothing bearing the name of the jailed Mexican mob boss, convicted earlier this year of smuggling huge amounts of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine into the United States. "I have a project for a line of clothing... It is my goal to promote my style and Joaquin's," said Emma Coronel, the 29-year-old wife of the former Sinaloa cartel boss, on her Instagram account, where she has more than 100,000 followers. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR / AFP)

Emma Coronel leaving the court in Brooklyn, New York, after attending the trial of her husband Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman in February 2019. File photo: AFP

News

World

Americas


Authorities briefly captured suspected trafficker earlier this month, but were forced to release him to avoid bloodbath



Authorities briefly captured suspected trafficker Ovidio Guzman Lopez earlier this month, but were forced to release him to avoid bloodbath with cartel gunmen.


Drugs

Crime