Serious gun fire erupted on the streets of Culiacan, Sinaloa, after Mexican law enforcement officials reportedly captured Ovidio Guzman, the son of convicted Sinaloa cartel drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Journalist Robert Arce was the first to report the unredacted mugshot of Ovidio Guzman who “sought to take control of the Sinaloa cartel along with his older brother, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, after their father was captured and extradited to the United States in 2017,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
SCOOP: Here is the unredacted mugshot of Ovidio Guzman, the son of convicted Sinaloa Cartel drug lord El Chapo, who was just arrested in Culiacán, Sinaloa pic.twitter.com/ILD5XICR48
— Robert Arce (@robertrarce) October 18, 2019
In his report at Breitbart, Arce wrote that sources confirmed that the arrest is what “sparked an intense deployment of Sinaloa Cartel gunmen to the scene of the incident and later the offices of the Federal Prosecutor’s office in [an] attempted rescue effort.”
A source told The Daily Wire that family members of military personnel were being warned that truckloads of cartel gunmen were searching for the relatives of Mexican army personnel in retaliation for the capture of El Chapo’s son.
On social media, numerous posts showed intense gun fire erupting around the city as innocent bystanders rushed to find cover.
Cartels appear to have set fire to numerous vehicles in a road block that they set up in an effort to prevent backup from Mexican authorities from arriving on scene.
Continúan las agresiones en #Culiacán. pic.twitter.com/3sHdy8d750
— Juan Pablo Pérez Díaz (@PerezDiazMX) October 18, 2019
#Nuevo: Fuentes de la SEIDO señalan que el detenido es Ovidio Guzmán López.
Se espera su arribo a la Ciudad de México.
En un intento por detener su traslado, quemaron autos para usarlos como barricadas. pic.twitter.com/zonxKKU3ZH
— Carlos Zúñiga Pérez (@Carloszup) October 17, 2019
Other footage showed what appeared to be automatic fire:
Así las cosas al norte de #Culiacán. Momentos exactos de la balacera captados por el compañero reportero Policiaco, Ernesto Martínez. pic.twitter.com/o53uBLqCWr
— Juan Pablo Pérez Díaz (@PerezDiazMX) October 17, 2019
Other photos showed vehicles that were apparently destroyed by the cartels:
#Culiacán zona de guerra. Enrique Cabrera y Enrique Félix Castro. pic.twitter.com/OUzFLtk08X
— Juan Pablo Pérez Díaz (@PerezDiazMX) October 17, 2019
Bystanders trying to flee the area after intense gun fire breaks out:
Reportan enfrentamientos entre militares y hombres armados en #Culiacán.
No se sabe el origen del enfrentamiento. pic.twitter.com/s4iFLTl4Nm
— Carlos Zúñiga Pérez (@Carloszup) October 17, 2019
A man opens fire using what appears to be a .50 caliber sniper rifle:
#Más: El enfrentamiento inició en el Sector Tres Ríos, pero se ha extendido a otros puntos de #Culiacán.
Vean el tipo de armas que se están usando. pic.twitter.com/sLXtMeUTHk
— Carlos Zúñiga Pérez (@Carloszup) October 17, 2019
Other video showed cartel gunmen armed with .50 caliber machine guns mounted on top of trucks driving around the area:
#Más: Otro video de los hombres armados que participan en las balaceras en #Culiacán. pic.twitter.com/UNDnnYR0yX
— Carlos Zúñiga Pérez (@Carloszup) October 17, 2019
More intense gun fire:
#Nuevo: Versiones a través de whatsapp y radio, señalan que autoridades federales detuvieron a Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, hijo de “Él Chapo” Guzmán.
Los enfrentamientos siguen. pic.twitter.com/vsEiNhFFz5
— Carlos Zúñiga Pérez (@Carloszup) October 17, 2019
The Mexican military arrives on scene:
#Más: Sigue el despliegue de militares por #Culiacán. pic.twitter.com/Eoyna6wZXZ
— Carlos Zúñiga Pérez (@Carloszup) October 17, 2019
Innocent bystanders hide in a supermarket as gunfire erupts:
#Más: En medio del miedo y el caos, habitantes de #Culiacán intentan resgardarse de las balaceras en un centro comercial. pic.twitter.com/l6rrNgf9nU
— Carlos Zúñiga Pérez (@Carloszup) October 17, 2019
The fighting continued into the night:
Al norte de #Culiacán sector Humaya siguen las balaceras. pic.twitter.com/zJw1K8CJFo
— Juan Pablo Pérez Díaz (@PerezDiazMX) October 18, 2019
The Los Angeles Times added that the Sinaloa Cartel – which has long been the most prolific drug trafficking organization in the world – has faced increasing challenges to its dominance from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The CJNG is suspected to be behind a massacre on Monday in the western Mexican state of Michoacan.
“The federal public security ministry said 14 police were killed, though its Michoacan state counterpart reported that 13 officers were confirmed dead and three injured,” Reuters reported.
Reuters added that photographs of the crime scene “showed large placards signed by ‘CJNG’ left on police vehicles.”
CJNG reportedly warned law enforcement in the area to not support rival criminal organizations.