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Shootouts and Street Battles Break Out in Culiacán, Mexico Street Battles Break Out in Culiacán, Mexico, After Arrest of El Chapo’s Son
(about 2 hours later)
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s armed forces were deployed to the city of Culiacán on Thursday night, as shootouts and street battles erupted in the streets, according to local news reports. MEXICO CITY — Cartel gunmen paralyzed a major Mexican city on Thursday, unleashing hails of automatic gunfire in broad daylight and blockading major thoroughfares in a staggering show of force after the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of the infamous drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera.
On Thursday evening, the government of Sinaloa state issued a warning on Twitter, urging residents to stay calm but “not to go out in the streets and to stay on high alert for official notices.” The violence began shortly after 3:30 p.m. in the city of Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa State, when a patrol of 30 soldiers came under attack by individuals in a home in the neighborhood of Tres Ríos, according to government officials.
It said that the armed forces were in the city “for the good of the security of Sinaloa and Mexico.” It said only that “high-impact incidents have occurred in recent hours in various points of Culiacán,” and that the government was working “to re-establish order and peace.” After taking control of the home, the security forces encountered and detained four men — among them Mr. Guzmán López, a leader in Sinaloa cartel. Cartel gunmen then surrounded the home and engaged the armed forces, the officials said.
On social media, people shared photos of black smoke billowing above Culiacán’s skyline, and videos that showed vehicles on fire, and armed men taking positions around the city, sometimes in trucks. Some videos showed civilians hiding behind parked cars or running toward cover as gunfire rang out nearby. Later, the cartel deployed fighters throughout the neighborhood and began burning vehicles and blockading streets throughout the city.
Rumors quickly began circulating on social media that the gunfights were related to the cartel that was run by Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug kingpin known as El Chapo, which remains powerful in Sinaloa, his home state. He was convicted in February in the United States on drug, murder and money laundering charges, and was sentenced to life in prison. Gunfire continued into Thursday night, as soldiers and cartel fighters battled in the streets. In its brief statement, the government said it had opted to suspend its operation, but did not elaborate on what exactly that meant, including whether or not Mr. Guzmán López was released back into the custody of the cartel. Officials also warned residents “not to go out into the streets.”
In February, the Justice Department charged two of El Chapo’s sons, Joaquín Guzmán López and Ovidio Guzmán López, with one count each of conspiracy to “knowingly, intentionally, and willfully” distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana for importation into the United States. Some analysts also cast doubt on the government narrative that 30 soldiers and national guardsmen were patrolling and came under attack by a small contingent of gunmen.
Two of El Chapo’s older sons who helped take over his business after his arrest in 2016, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, also face charges in the United States. The drug kingpin’s sons were often mentioned during his trial, and they were accused of helping to orchestrate his tunnel escape from a maximum-security prison in Almoloya, Mexico, in 2015. The peals of gunfire sent citizens fleeing for safety as the assault began, while others sat trapped in their vehicles, capturing footage on cellphone cameras. The harrowing videos, uploaded onto social media, showed heavily armed men in ski masks blocking streets and halting traffic while plumes of black smoke filled the sky.
Others showed the powerful weaponry wielded by the traffickers, including mounted .50-caliber guns.
In capturing Mr. Guzmán López on his home turf, the government dealt yet another blow to the Sinaloa cartel, which has struggled to regain its footing after the arrest and conviction of the elder Mr. Guzman, its longtime leader, known as El Chapo.
In its response, the cartel appeared to be sending a message of its own.
Though the gunmen appeared set on rescuing Mr. Guzmán López from federal custody, their efforts, successful or not, offered a harrowing glimpse at the power and impunity with which drug cartels operate in Mexico.
“In my 21 years of covering crime at the heart of drug world, this has been the worst shootout and the most horrible situation I have ever encountered,” said Ernesto Martínez, a local crime reporter who was caught in the middle of a gun battle only a few feet away from his vehicle.
Mr. Martínez had gone to report on a separate shooting when he ran into an army vehicle, which had stopped a car with individuals carrying machine guns. Suddenly, he said, the gunfire started and the soldiers yelled: “Everybody down, shootout!”
Mr. Martínez said he then noticed a white vehicle with masked men shooting at the soldiers. He was still recording video of the scene as he drove to the nearest gas station looking for shelter.
“The sound of the bullets was so strong I could almost smell the gunpowder,” he said.
The gunfight lasted for 20 minutes before another one erupted, he said. The second shootout lasted for almost four hours, he said, and continued late into Thursday.
Mr. Martínez said most of the confrontations took place in Tres Ríos, an upscale commercial and business district, but he said chaos reigned throughout the city with burned vehicles and houses and roadblocks in different locations, and gunshots being fired at government buildings, including the state attorney’s office.
Hours after the mayhem began, most businesses had closed, with people locked down in their houses and public transportation suspended in what Mr. Martínez described as a “self-imposed” state of emergency.
Mexico is facing its deadliest year since the country began recording homicide statistics more than 20 years ago. Warfare between rival cartels fighting for control of the drug trade to the United States has turned parts of the country into some of the deadliest places on earth.
The government has continued to target top cartel leaders in its now 13-year war on drugs. This despite the fact that the so-called kingpin strategy has helped usher in the nation’s most violent period in recent history.
It is not unheard-of for cartel assassins to stage brazen attacks in broad daylight, often in response to an arrest of a high-ranking member or to target their enemies. In May of last year, gunmen stormed a Japanese restaurant in Guadalajara, targeting a former state prosecutor and setting off a gun battle in an upscale area of the city.
Rumors quickly began circulating on social media late Thursday that the gunfights were related to the cartel that was run by Joaquín Guzmán Loera, which remains powerful in Sinaloa, his home state. He was convicted in February in the United States on drug, murder and money laundering charges, and was sentenced to life in prison.
In February, the Justice Department charged two of his sons, Joaquín Guzmán López and Ovidio Guzmán López, with one count each of conspiracy to “knowingly, intentionally, and willfully” distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana for import into the United States.
Two of Joaquín Guzmán López’s older sons who helped take over his business after his arrest in 2016, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, also face charges in the United States. The drug kingpin’s sons were often mentioned during his trial, and they were accused of helping to orchestrate his tunnel escape from a maximum-security prison in Almoloya, Mexico, in 2015.
But Thursday’s brazen display of firepower in the streets of Culiacán was extraordinary behavior for the Sinaloa cartel, which has generally tried to keep a lower profile, analysts said, a potential harbinger of a split in the nation’s once-dominant criminal organization.
Some believe the cartel’s show of force might reflect a schism within the group, one that deepened with the arrest of El Chapo. Since then, various factions have been jockeying for control and some suspected that it might have been one of those factions that engaged in Thursday’s mayhem.
“This break from the pattern signals a major disruption,” said Jaime López Aranda, a security analyst based in Mexico City. “I think that being so brazen and so open is the kind of thing done by organizations that are less disciplined and coherent and organized.”
“The ability to exercise restraint is key to an organization’s survival in the long term,” he added. “Successful criminal organizations are able to restrain themselves, and Sinaloa has been successful for a long time.”
Paulina Villegas and Kirk Semple contributed reporting.