Mexican authorities captured Ovidio Guzmán-López, son of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán-Loera, on Thursday in Culiacán, the home base of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Three Mexican government officials said security forces arrested Ovidio Guzman-López who was later transferred to a military base in Mexico City. His capture comes days before Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will host U.S. President Joe Biden for the North American Leader’s Summit with Canadian prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Guzmán-López was arrested by federal authorities in October 2019, which set off violence in Culiacan and prompted orders from Lopez Obrador for his release to prevent bloodshed.
Several social media videos show violence unfolding in Culiacán as a response to Guzmán-López’s arrest. Sinaloa Secretary of Public Security Cristóbal Castañeda said that vehicles were being looted and blockades “are taking place in different parts of the city”, further asking the public not to leave the city.
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) posted a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Guzmán early last year. Law enforcement investigations indicated that Guzmán and his brother, Joaquín Guzmán-López, “inherited a great deal of the narcotics proceeds” following the death of another brother, Edgar Guzmán-López.
“The Guzmán-López brothers began their narcotics trafficking careers early by inheriting relationships from their deceased brother, Edgar Guzmán-López. Following Edgar’s death, Ovidio and Joaquín inherited a great deal of the narcotics proceeds and began investing large amounts of the cash into the purchasing of marijuana in Mexico and cocaine in Colombia. They also began purchasing large amounts of ephedrine from Argentina and arranged for the smuggling of the product into Mexico as they began to experiment with methamphetamine production,” according to U.S Homeland Security Investigations.
Authorities allege the Guzman brothers oversee an estimated 11 “methamphetamine labs in the state of Sinaloa. Their father “El Chapo” Guzmán was convicted in the US in 2019 of 10 counts, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, and firearms charge.
He was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years and ordered to pay $12.6 billion in forfeiture.
