JAKARTA - Mexican security forces on Thursday arrested drug cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, jailed son of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, sparking a wave of violence ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit next week.
Major violence took place in Culiacan City, Sinaloa State, home to an influential drug cartel under the same name El Chapo, before his extradition to the United States in 2017.
State governor Ruben Rocha said seven members of the security forces were killed, including a colonel, while 21 were injured and eight civilians.
Rocha further explained that 12 clashes had occurred with the security forces, 25 looting and 250 burning vehicles were then used to block roads.
"Tomorrow we think we will be able to work normally," he said, adding that he had not discussed calling for more reinforcements from the army or the National Guard.
Separately, Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval confirmed the 32-year-old's arrest on Thursday, saying Ovidio was being held in the capital, Mexico City.
Videos shared on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, appear to show fierce fighting overnight in Culiacan, with the sky illuminated by helicopter fire.
Meanwhile, the city's airport was caught in violence, with Mexican airline Aeromexico saying one of its planes was hit by fire ahead of a flight schedule to Mexico City. No one was injured, the airline.
David Tellez, a passenger who boarded a plane with his wife and three children, said they had decided to stay at the airport until it was safe to leave.
"This city is worse," he said. "There were a lot of shootings and confusion."
A Mexican air force aircraft was also shot, the federal aviation agency said, adding that the airports in Culiacan, as well as in the cities of Mazatlan and Los Mochis in Sinaloa, will remain closed until security is certain.
Separately, security forces are seeking to control the response to violence against the arrests in Culiacan with heavily armed teams patrolling pickup trucks.
"We continue to try to control the situation," said Crisobal Castaneda, head of public security Sinaloa.
Authorities urged people to stay indoors and said schools and administrative offices were closed due to the violence. Road blockades have also been established.
Earlier, operations that failed to contain Ovidio in 2019 ended with insults to the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, after the arrest sparked a wave of violence that forced authorities to close schools and Culiacan airports.
At that time, Ovidio, who was a key figure in the cartel since his father was arrested, was immediately released to end the violence from his cartel.
It is known that Ovidio's arrest comes ahead of the summit of North American leaders in Mexico City next week, which US President Joe Biden will attend and is expected to discuss security.
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