SHOTS FIRED

El Chapo’s Son Released After Mexico Arrest Sparks Gun Battles

He is wanted in the U.S. on drug-related charges, including distributing cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana.

The son of Mexican drug lord El Chapo, Ovidio Guzmán López, was taken into custody and later released Thursday, after a government security patrol was attacked in the streets of Culiacán, Mexico, local officials said. Security Minister Alfonso Durazo Monraño said 30 members of the National Guard contingent were patrolling the area when they were fired on from a house. Monraño confirmed that López was among four men who were discovered by the National Guard. However, the house was surrounded by heavily armed gunmen who had “a greater force,” and authorities decided to suspend the operation, Monraño said. José Luis González Meza, a lawyer for El Chapo’s family, told the AP that Guzmán's family has said “Ovidio is alive and free” but that he didn’t have any more details about what had happened. After the announcement of López’s arrest, gunfire and violence erupted throughout the city, which is known to be the stronghold of El Chapo’s former cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel. López is wanted in the U.S. on drug-related charges, including distributing cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana. His father, El Chapo, was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years in the U.S. in July.