Ovidio Guzmán Arrested. Culiacanazo 2.0 Breaks Out in Sinaloa

Borderland Beat Contributors

As of 8 minutes ago, the reputable news publication Reuters has published an article titled “Mexico Arrests capo Ovidio Guzman, son of El Chapo - sources”.

In the article, they cite four officials familiar with the matter who confirmed to them that Ovidio has been captured, today, January 5, 2023. 

The newspaper El Universal has published and confirmed that Ovidio was captured. They cite federal sources for confirmation. Various outlets such as Quadratin are currently reporting on El Universal’s confirmation. 

Many have noted that this major arrest occurred shortly before a scheduled visit from US President Joe Biden to Mexico. 

The arrest allegedly occurred in Jesus Maria in Sinaloa. 

His First Arrest

Ovidio was famously arrested years ago in an event dubbed Culiacanazo, on October 17, 2019.

 

Hitmen and leadership figures from the Sinaloa Cartel attacked law enforcement and military personnel throughout the city and surrounding areas. They mobilized and retaliated swiftly, attempting to free Ovidio. 

Eventually, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador chose to suspend the capture operation and Ovidio was freed. He later stated that “The operation was suspended and it was suspended because we did not want to put the lives of many people at risk.”

Details About the Operation Which Arrested Him

At approximately 4:00 am, a military operation was launched that aimed to capture the son of El Chapo, one of the leadership figures within the Sinaloa Cartel, Ovidio Guzmán. 

The Army (SEDENA) was allegedly the main military group involved in the capture. The Marines (SEMAR) are the military group most often used for such high-profile targets, so the choice to use SEDENA seems significant. The Air Force and the National Guard also participated in the arrest. 

Soldiers moved in to capture Ovidio from a property in the neighborhood of Jesús María, near Culiacán.

Neighbors allegedly began to hear gunfire at 4:40 am, according to Reforma newspaper. 

Helicopter gunships were allegedly used and Special Forces units from Airborne divisions participated in the capture. 

In total, 900 personnel from SEDENA, the Air Force, the National Guard, and Sinaloa State Police have been involved in the operations, although most were likely notified after the arrest was complete in order to prevent details of the operation leaking to Sinaloa Cartel members.

Cartel Hitmen Create Retaliatory Road Blockades

Culiacán Prison Riot

Journalist Jorge Sánchez Torres is reporting that a shootout can be heard near Culiacán’s prison, named Aguarato, which contains a considerable number of Sinaloa Cartel members.

Plumes of smoke are now emerging from the prison. Rumors of a massive riot inside are being shared on Twitter. 

Culiacán Airport Closes to the Public Due to Violence

The Culiacán International Airport has announced that it will be closed all day. Videos uploaded to social media allegedly depict the gunshots which can allegedly be heard near the airport. 

With high-profile arrests, it's common that a detainee will be taken to an airport and flown out on a military plane to Mexico City, which lies safely beyond the grasp of the cartel hitmen trying to free him. 

It is likely Sinaloa Cartel hitmen may approach the airports in the area, such as the Culiacán International Airport, and attempt to intercept Ovidio before he is put on a plane for Mexico City. 

According to a flight tracker (flightradar24), two Boeing 737 airplanes have recently landed at the Culiacán International Airport. 

Journalist Alejandro Domínguez reports that the 737s belong to the Mexican Airforce. He said that the two planes “took off from Santa Lucía minutes before 8am will land. Reinforcement soldiers usually travel in them.” 

Investigative reporter Gildo Garza reports that the photo below shows remnants of an injury suffered by FES personnel inside a Boeing 737. They were presumably attacked by Sinaloa Cartel hitmen.

Videos on social media show passengers on an unrelated flight, Aeroméxico 165, cowering from nearby gunfire as hitmen tried to shoot their way into freeing Ovidio. Marines were allegedly present in vehicles on the runway, protecting and countering the hitmen’s attacks.

Below, is a video possibly showing authorities bracing for cartel attacks when a plane landed at an airfield in Jalisco. 

In another video, a man with a gun runs toward a camera shortly after a flight takes off. 

Ovidio's Flight Takes Off, Possibly Lands

Journalist Luis Alberto Díaz is reporting that the plane containing Ovidio has already left the airfield in Sinaloa, saying it left at 9:25 am. 

Plano Informativo, SPD Noticias, and Debate are reporting that the plane containing Ovidio has landed in Mexico City, at the military airfield Campo 1. Others alleged he has not landed yet, but instead his plane refueled at an airfield in Jalisco.

A video posted by Hesperia FC on Twitter allegedly shows Sinaloa Cartel hitmen attempting to shoot down the plane with Ovidio inside.

Surveillance Plane Over Jesus Maria 

A small Beechcraft King Air 350 twin prop plane took off from the airport outside of Culiacan shortly after the aforementioned 737s landed. 

For the last couple of hours, the surveillance plane has been flying circular patterns over the foothills north of Culiacan, concentrating heavily in the area of Jesus Maria, where Ovidio was allegedly captured. The plane is currently the most tracked flight in the world right now according to flightradar24. 

Beech 350s are used by multiple Air Force groups around the world, as well as the US Army, and US law enforcement. There is no country of origin listed on the flight radar for this plane.

Some have speculated that another high-profile target may have been near Ovidio’s location - but managed to escape the area before they were captured. 

The live flight data now cannot be found on the flight tracker. This is usually the case when the plan has been grounded and is no longer in flight.

https://www.flightradar24.com/B350/2ec0d7cf

Federal Detention Registry for Ovidio Appears Online 

Culiacanazo 2.0

Looting and violence is running rampant in Culiacan. Reporter López-Dóriga posted the following video which allegedly shows someone using a vehicle to ram into a store in the city for the purpose of looting. 

La Voz del Pueblo has posted similar footage. 

Periodico Quequi has posted a compilation of clips which allegedly depict the looting going on in Culiacan. 

La Voz del Pueblo has also posted alleged footage of the chaos inside a Culiacan hospital as members of both sides of the conflict arrive with gunshot wounds. 

Below is aerial footage of Culiacan, showing the smoke from the narco blockades in the city. 

Plane Allegedly Shot Over Culiacan

The Twitter accounts César Jiménez Mtz and Jalisciense1cc posted videos that are alleged to show a plane shot down over Culiacan.

Cresencio Sandoval Announces Ovidio's Capture at a Press Conference

At a press conference in Mexico City, the head of the Army (SEDENA), Luis Cresencio Sandoval, officially announced that Ovidio Guzman had been captured.

SEDENA Tracked Ovidio for 6 Months

During the press conference held by Luis Cresencio Sandoval, it was announced that the arrest was the result of a six-month-long operation tracking him. The operation was led by the Army (SEDENA), FGR, National Guard (GN), the Intelligence Center, and local Sinaloa Security forces.

“The military personnel, when carrying out land reconnaissance to the northwest of Culiacán, carried out the arrest of Ovidio. Said arrest was the result of from six months of reconnaissance and surveillance work in the area of ​​influence of this criminal group,” he added.

State Congress Suspends Session, Schools Close

Due to the violence throughout the state of Sinaloa, Sinaloa State Congress suspended its first session, which was scheduled to begin today. According to Riodoce newspaper, State Congress activities will remain suspended until further notice. 

Additionally, the Ministry of Public Education announced that all schools in the state will remain closed tomorrow, Friday, January 6, 2023. 

Ebrard Announces There Will Be No Immediate Extradition, Nor Was There DEA Involvement

Mexico’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard announced that Ovidio Guzman would not be immediately extradited. The US has previously indicted Ovidio and placed a $5 million dollar reward on his head. 

“There is a procedure that must be followed, according to Mexican law. I imagine today [...] he would have to be presented before the different authorities [such as judges]. We could not extradite him or proceed to extradite him in this circumstance today, or tomorrow, or the day after. It could not be done." 

“While he is under indictment in the US, there was also an open warrant for Ovidio's arrest in Mexico as well, and the operation was conducted for that purpose. So likely it will be months or years until a decision on his extradition is made in Mexico.”

Ebrard also denied that personnel from US agencies participated in the operation to capture Ovidio Guzmán. "There is an extradition request that we have on file that is dated September 19, 2019, and that is a request for provisional detention [...] so there is an extradition request but there is no participation, as far as I know, of any foreign agent within our country."

Public Security Secretary of Sinaloa Warns of Cartel Patrols

Sinaloa’s Head of Security, Cristóbal Castañeda, tweeted out a warning to the public. His tweet translates as follows: 

"Please do not go out on the streets. We are seeing vehicles circulating in the city - pickup trucks with dark tinted windows and they are civilians [meaning men with guns who are not a part of the military or law enforcement]. 

Do not drive in dump trucks or box trucks. Do NOT go out. Patrols will continue."

The warning references two types of trucks that cartel hitmen are fond of commandeering from civilians, holding them at gunpoint and demanding they hand over the key, so the vehicle can be used to create burning roadblocks.

La Jornada Shares Video Showing Ovidio Being Escorted

A video and photo were posted by La Jornada, on both Twitter and Youtube, which show Ovidio being escorted onto a helicopter to be transported to Altiplano prison (the same prison his father El Chapo escaped from in 2015) after being legally processed in Mexico City.

Its worth noting that since his first arrest, in 2019, he has grown a beard and kept his long hair.

Army Colonel Killed 

So far, 6 deaths and 18 injuries are being attributed to retaliatory attacks by Sinaloa Cartel hitmen on military and law enforcement members, according to newspaper El Manana. 

Lopez Doriga is now reporting 28 injured, 200 stolen vehicles and 20 stores were looted.  

Among the 6 dead is an Army colonel named Juan José Moreno Orzúa and 4 soldiers (some reports allege 3) who were acting as his bodyguards. The colonel was commander of the 43rd Infantry Battalion, which is based out of Nayarit, a state which borders Sinaloa.

The group was ambushed in Escuinapa, Sinaloa, near the Nayarit border, by CDS hitmen. The colonel died due to a gunshot wound he sustained in his chest, according to military sources who spoke to El Siglo de Torreon. He was officially declared deceased at 2:50 pm on January 5, 2023.