The toll of the capture of the son of El Chapo: 10 soldiers, 19 members of the cartel dead
After troops arrested a son of the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo, cartel gunmen attempted to arrest him. release, resulting in a series of firefights and thousands of troops being called into action.
Ten soldiers and 19 drug cartel members were killed and Dozens of people have been injured in a series of shootings surrounding the capture of the son of the notorious drug kingpin known as El Chapo, Mexican officials said on Friday. drug cartel his father once led was arrested on Thursday in what the government described as a blow to one of the country's most notorious criminal organizations. But the scale and high cost of the operation were not made public until the next day, at a press conference led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
As cartel members fired on soldiers, including with .50 caliber machine guns, and set up roadblocks with burning vehicles in an attempt to free the young Mr. Guzmán, more than 3,500 soldiers were involved in the operation, responding on the ground and from aircraft, officials said.
In addition to the 29 men killed, 35 soldiers were wounded by gunfire and 21 suspected cartel members were arrested. Authorities did not say whether anyone other than soldiers was injured. They said the government had seized six .50 caliber machine guns, four .50 caliber semi-automatic rifles, 26 other long guns, pistols and 53 vehicles including 26 armoured, along with quantities of fentanyl and cocaine .
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">"With these actions, the Army, Air Force, and National Guard reaffirm the federal government's unwavering resolve to continue to take action against crime. organized," said Luis Cresencio Sandoval González, Secretary of Defense. .Catch gives Mr. López Obrador a victory a few days before he is to host a summit meeting with President Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada. And that at least partially cleans the stain from a previous arrest of Mr. Guzmán, in 2019, when authorities were forced to release him after he was overpowered by cartel gunmen.
Thursday's operation, officials said, reflected lessons learned from that experience, including the need for overwhelming numbers. Rather than in the cartel's stronghold, the northwestern town of Culiacán, the capture took place some 25 miles away, in the village of Jesús María, limiting both the risk of civilian casualties - there nothing to do with it, they said - and whatever reinforcements the cartel could muster.
"We didn't come to win a war, we came to build peace," said Rosa Icela Rodríguez Velásquez, security secretary in the president's cabinet.
Early Thursday morning, a National Guard surveillance patrol spotted six suspicious vehicles that appeared to be armored and called in the army for reinforcements, Mr. Sandoval said. But the occupants of the vehicles ignored orders to exit and submit to a search, attacked the troops and fled.
After troops arrested a son of the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo, cartel gunmen attempted to arrest him. release, resulting in a series of firefights and thousands of troops being called into action.
Ten soldiers and 19 drug cartel members were killed and Dozens of people have been injured in a series of shootings surrounding the capture of the son of the notorious drug kingpin known as El Chapo, Mexican officials said on Friday. drug cartel his father once led was arrested on Thursday in what the government described as a blow to one of the country's most notorious criminal organizations. But the scale and high cost of the operation were not made public until the next day, at a press conference led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
As cartel members fired on soldiers, including with .50 caliber machine guns, and set up roadblocks with burning vehicles in an attempt to free the young Mr. Guzmán, more than 3,500 soldiers were involved in the operation, responding on the ground and from aircraft, officials said.
In addition to the 29 men killed, 35 soldiers were wounded by gunfire and 21 suspected cartel members were arrested. Authorities did not say whether anyone other than soldiers was injured. They said the government had seized six .50 caliber machine guns, four .50 caliber semi-automatic rifles, 26 other long guns, pistols and 53 vehicles including 26 armoured, along with quantities of fentanyl and cocaine .
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">"With these actions, the Army, Air Force, and National Guard reaffirm the federal government's unwavering resolve to continue to take action against crime. organized," said Luis Cresencio Sandoval González, Secretary of Defense. .Catch gives Mr. López Obrador a victory a few days before he is to host a summit meeting with President Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada. And that at least partially cleans the stain from a previous arrest of Mr. Guzmán, in 2019, when authorities were forced to release him after he was overpowered by cartel gunmen.
Thursday's operation, officials said, reflected lessons learned from that experience, including the need for overwhelming numbers. Rather than in the cartel's stronghold, the northwestern town of Culiacán, the capture took place some 25 miles away, in the village of Jesús María, limiting both the risk of civilian casualties - there nothing to do with it, they said - and whatever reinforcements the cartel could muster.
"We didn't come to win a war, we came to build peace," said Rosa Icela Rodríguez Velásquez, security secretary in the president's cabinet.
Early Thursday morning, a National Guard surveillance patrol spotted six suspicious vehicles that appeared to be armored and called in the army for reinforcements, Mr. Sandoval said. But the occupants of the vehicles ignored orders to exit and submit to a search, attacked the troops and fled.
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