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Mexico drug wars: Fighting erupts as El Chapo's son goes free El Chapo: Mexican police free drug lord's son as Culiacán battle erupts
(about 2 hours later)
Heavy fighting broke in northern Mexico after the security forces seized one of the sons of jailed drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Heavy fighting broke out in northern Mexico after the security forces seized one of the sons of jailed drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
Fighting raged for several hours after Ovidio Guzmán López was found during a routine patrol in the city of Culiacán.Fighting raged for several hours after Ovidio Guzmán López was found during a routine patrol in the city of Culiacán.
Footage on Mexican TV showed armed men with heavy weapons firing on police, with vehicles, bodies and burning barricades strewn across the street. Footage showed heavily-armed men firing on police, with cars, bodies and burning barricades strewn in the road.
Mr Guzmán was later released - to avoid further violence, the authorities said. Police withdrew without Mr Guzmán in their custody to avoid further violence, officials said.
Mexico's security minister, Alfonso Durazo, said a patrol of National Guard militarised police came under heavy fire from within the house where Mr Guzmán was being held, forcing them to retreat for their own safety. Mexico's security minister, Alfonso Durazo, told Reuters news agency that a patrol of National Guard militarised police came under intense fire from outside the house where they had located Mr Guzmán, forcing them to retreat from the building for their own safety and "to recover calm in the city".
Mr Guzmán was arrested but later released, "to avoid more violence in the area and preserve the lives of our personnel and recover calm in the city", Mr Durazo said. A lawyer for the Guzmán family told the Associated Press (AP): "Ovidio is alive and free."
Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would hold a meeting of his security cabinet to discuss the incident.Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would hold a meeting of his security cabinet to discuss the incident.
Mr Obrador was elected on a platform of cracking down on Mexico's drug cartels, and has tasked a new security force, the National Guard, with fighting them.Mr Obrador was elected on a platform of cracking down on Mexico's drug cartels, and has tasked a new security force, the National Guard, with fighting them.
Under El Chapo's leadership, the Sinaloa cartel was the biggest supplier of drugs to the US, officials say.Under El Chapo's leadership, the Sinaloa cartel was the biggest supplier of drugs to the US, officials say.
With El Chapo now behind bars, the cartel is said to be partially controlled by Ovidio Guzmán, who is accused of drug trafficking in the US. With the kingpin now behind bars, the cartel is said to be partially controlled by Ovidio Guzmán Lopez, who is accused of drug trafficking in the US and believed to be in his twenties. But he is not one of El Chapo's best-known sons.
What happened in Culiacán?What happened in Culiacán?
The state government said Ovidio Guzmán was found in a house by a police patrol on a routine search. The state government said Mr Guzmán was found in a house by a police patrol on a routine search.
It said cartel members subsequently launched the huge attack in an attempt to seize him back from the authorities. It said cartel members subsequently launched the huge attack in an attempt to seize him back from the authorities. Fighters also attacked security forces in other parts of Culiacán.
Ovidio Guzmán, said to be in his 20s, is believed to have played a key role in the Sinaloa cartel, following the arrest of his father. Witnesses described scenes of panic in the city, a stronghold for the Sinaloa cartel, as families with small children fled from gunfire.
He is wanted in the US on several drug-related charges, Mexican media report. "No one knows what is going on but everyone is afraid and they have told us to not come in to work tomorrow," Ricardo González, a city resident, told AP.
The battle to free Ovidio Guzmán from police broke out near the state prosecutor's office, with fighting then spreading to several other parts of the city. Footage on social media showed a pick-up truck with a machine gun mounted on the back, in scenes reminiscent of a war zone.
There have been no official reports of fatalities, but pictures have emerged apparently showing dead bodies on the streets. Other footage showed families scrambling to take cover under cars and in shops as gunfire roared. In one video, a girl asked her father: "Why are they shooting bullets?"
Some police officers were wounded, the Sinaloa state government told Reuters news agency, without elaborating on how many or their condition. A purported mugshot taken of Mr Guzmán while he was detained by police was shared widely on social media.
Sinaloa state's head of security, Cristobal Castañeda, told the Televisa network that two people had been killed and 21 injured, according to preliminary information.
Pictures showing what appeared to be dead bodies on the streets suggest the death toll could rise.
Some police officers were wounded, local officials said, but would not provide further details.
As fighting brought the city to a standstill, the Sinaloa state government said an unknown number of inmates had escaped from the Aguaruto prison.As fighting brought the city to a standstill, the Sinaloa state government said an unknown number of inmates had escaped from the Aguaruto prison.
The state government said it was "working to restore calm and order in the face of the high-impact incidents that have occurred in recent hours in various points around Culiacán", AFP news agency reports. It said it was "working to restore calm and order" and called on residents to "remain calm, stay off the streets and be very attentive to official advisories on the evolving situation".
It called on residents to "remain calm, stay off the streets and be very attentive to official advisories on the evolving situation".
'City under siege'
By BBC Mexico correspondent Will Grant
The commercial district of Culiacán resembled a battlefield, with cars and jeeps set on fire and a large deployment of military vehicles.
Panic spread in the city as sustained fighting took place between scores of cartel gunmen - in pick-up trucks with machine guns mounted on them - and a large deployment of police and the military.
In the middle of the chaos, a jailbreak involving a number of prisoners also apparently took place in the city as the cartel tried to sow greater confusion in the effort to recover their leader.
What was El Chapo's role in Mexico's drug trade?What was El Chapo's role in Mexico's drug trade?
"El Chapo" (or "Shorty") ran the Sinaloa cartel across northern Mexico."El Chapo" (or "Shorty") ran the Sinaloa cartel across northern Mexico.
Over time, it became one of the biggest traffickers of drugs to the US. In 2009, Guzmán entered Forbes' list of the world's richest men at number 701, with an estimated worth of $1bn (£775m). Over time, it became one of the biggest traffickers of drugs to the US. He escaped a Mexican jail through a tunnel in 2015, but was later arrested. He was extradited to the United States in 2017.
He escaped a Mexican jail through a tunnel in 2015, but was later arrested. He was extradited to the United States in 2017.
He was accused of having helped export hundreds of tonnes of cocaine into the US and of conspiring to manufacture and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.He was accused of having helped export hundreds of tonnes of cocaine into the US and of conspiring to manufacture and distribute heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.
He was also said to have used hitmen to carry out "hundreds" of murders, assaults, kidnappings and acts of torture on rivals. El Chapo, 62, was found guilty in New York of 10 charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
Key associates, including one former lieutenant, testified against Guzmán.
Guzmán, 62, was found guilty in New York of 10 charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering.