CARTEL WARZONE
Mexico erupts into all-out war as El Chapo’s cartel launches assault on ARMY over rumour his son ‘Chapito’ was arrested
The embattled Mexican city was already on alert following two huge arrests in July
CHAOS has broken out in the infamous Mexican state of Sinaloa after rumours swirled that drug lord El Chapo's son "Chapito" was captured.
Sinaloa Cartel members took on the army, blocking roads and highways as buses and trucks erupted into flames amid the fighting on Thursday.
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Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, one of El Chapo's sons, was thought to have been arrested before Mexico's Ministry of National Defense said he remained at large, .
But violence flared in Sinaloan capital Culiacan as unfounded whispers of his capture spread.
The city had already been troubled by tension following the arrests of kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquin Gozman Lopez - one of El Chapo's other sons - in July.
The state has long been a stronghold of El Chapo, who is currently behind bars in the US, and his sons.
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Sinaloan authorities said a military patrol on the outskirts of the city was attacked by gunmen while roadblocks - known as narco-blockades - were put in place.
They are commonly used by cartels to block cops or troops from rushing to a scene.
Sinaloa cops said on social media: “We are aware that military personnel suffered an attack.
“We are also aware that roads have been blocked with vehicles.”
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State Governor Rubén Rocha confirmed two vehicles were set ablaze "with the aim of blocking authorities".
Shocking footage has since swirled on social media.
Inside the arrest of drug kingpin El Mayo
One clip showed a cloud of black smoke billowing above a main road.
More footage showed a bus ablaze in illustration of a narco-blockade.
Other vision shows Mexican cops in a firefight as they travel down a road.
There was never official confirmation of Ivan's arrest, but Sinaloa has previously been cast into chaos following attempted and successful captures of high-profile cartel leaders.
In 2019, a fierce conflict dubbed The Battle of Culiacán erupted as authorities went after Ivan's half-brother Ovidio Guzman Lopez.
A convoy of cops and soldiers stormed Ovidio's home before hundreds of cartel members began causing chaos across the city, with similar scenes of smoke billowing from burning vehicles.
Ovidio had to be released after the cartel captured eight Mexican troops as hostages.
But he was captured again in 2023 and sent to the US.
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Los Chapitos
El Chapo has a lot of sons.
The official count is 15, but up to 24 people are rumoured to be his offspring.
Most of them aren't in the cartel, but these are the ones who have been involved in one the world's most infamous operations.
Iván ArchivaldoIvan
Ivan is El Chapo’s oldest son at 39 and a key figure in Los Chapitos.
He is thought to be leading the battle in wrestling control from former Sinaloa Cartel leaders, some of whom are now the Chapitos’ rivals.
He was briefly taken hostage along with his brother Jesus by the rival Jalisco New Generation cartel while their dad was still running the show from prison in 2016.
Jesús Alfredo Guzmán
Jesus, 37, is known as Alfredo or “Alfredillo,” is on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s most wanted list, the only one of Chapo’s kids to have that distinction.
He is thought to be running part of the cartel with his brother Ivan.
Alfredo’s become known for his lavish lifestyle and likes to party, something he he taunts the authorities with.
Ovidio Guzmán López
Nicknamed “El Ratón” (the mouse), Ovidio and Ivan have been deemed key lieutenants in the Sinaloa cartel by the US Treasury Department.
An arrest attempt in Culiacán in 2019 ended in violence when the cartel opened fire on authorities in the streets and the Mexican government deemed the threat of violence to civilians too high.
The 2023 attempt, while resulting in another shootout, saw him extradited to the US where he awaits trial.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez
Joaquín has kept a relatively low profile in comparison to his other brothers but, in February 2019, the US Justice Department indicted him along with Ovidio for conspiring to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States.
He was arrested in July, alongside El Mayo.
He remains behind bars there along with Joaquín and their infamous father.
The US is offering a massive $10million (£7.6m) reward for information that could help them hunt Ivan down.
Joaquín was taken into US custody after being arrested alongside El Mayo at the Santa Teresa International Jetport in Texas on July 25.
El Mayo, 76, led the cartel after the capture of El Chapo.
The former had somehow managed to evade the American authorities despite a bounty being placed on his head ever since the 1990s.
He was among the most powerful drug traffickers in Mexico, accused of commanding a massive cocaine and fentanyl trafficking operation that moves narcotics into the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.
But Joaquin is believed to have lured El Mayo to his arrest in a stunning act of betrayal.
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The drug veteran thought he was going to check out real estate in Mexico before the plane powered onto the US instead, it was reported.
Joaquin was said to be seeking revenge after blaming El Mayo for his father's blockbuster arrest in 2019.
Who is El Chapo?
El Chapo is the former chief of the Sinoloa Cartel, one of the most infamous the world has ever seen.
He was considered the most powerful drug trafficker across the globe before he was extradited to the US in 2017 and sentenced to life in prison.
Born in Sinaloa in 1957, he launched a career in narcotics moving drugs through the state and into the US by the 1970s.
He rose up the ranks to run logistics for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, a kingpin of the 1980s.
Following Felix's arrest, El Chapo launched his own cartel, which he developed into an empire.
He became renowned for using long tunnels to transport drugs into the US, including huge amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and heroin.
He was captured and escaped jail multiple times over two-and-a-half decades, but is now behind bars at the "supermax" ADX Florence prison in Colorado.
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