Cartel lays siege to Culiacan Mexico after the arrest of Ovidio Guzman, the son of El Chapo Guzman.

 

Ovidio Guzman after his arrest in 2019. LA Times/AP.

The Sinaloa Cartel has laid siege to the city of Culiacan Mexico after the arrest of drug lord Ovidio Guzman, the notorious son of Juaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. LA Times. Guzman was arrested in the city this morning and fighting broke out shortly afterwards. The Air Force was able to Guzman out of the city even as the cartel blocked all the exits of the city and even attacked civilian aircraft in an attempt to rescue Guzman. The event mirrors the 2019 arrest of Guzman which also resulted in a major battle between the Sinaloa Cartel and the government. Mexico claims that they have regained control of Culiacan. At least eight people have died in the fighting. 

Gun fighting on the streets of Culiacan, Mexico after the arrest of El Chapo's son Ovidio Guzman...pic.twitter.com/M7MziJoup5

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 5, 2023

 

Intense footage shows the moment the Mexican military comes under heavy fire from cartel gunmen. This is what the military has to deal with across #Mexico.#OvidioGuzman #Sinaloa #Culiacan #Juarez pic.twitter.com/dQxRAtLsM0

— Donkey Junk (@DonkeyJunkMedia) January 5, 2023

 

Also today, the Mexican Air Force deployed a PC-7 over Culiacan.

The PC-7 is the only attack aircraft Mexico operates beside 4 F-5's.

While we give Ukraine billions, we are seeing a battle in a city a day's drive from Tuscon. pic.twitter.com/aV65ssSKxa

— Oriental Fury (@FuryOriental) January 6, 2023

 

AeroMexico flight AM165 passengers took cover as gunshots ring out in Culiacan, Mexico following the arrest of drug lord El Chapo's son on 5th January. The Embraer ERJ-190LR aircraft (XA-ALW) was hit by bullets at Culiacan (CUL) Airport in Mexico.#aircraft #aviation #flight pic.twitter.com/G6iJ4o41Ua

— FL360aero (@fl360aero) January 5, 2023

My Comment:

The media is downplaying how serious this battle was. In addition to the massive gun battles and blockades, aircraft came under attack. Mexico deployed attack aircraft against the cartel and a civilian plane came under fire. I have heard rumors, that I haven't been able to confirm, that the cartel even used MANPADS and .50 BMG rifles to attack airplanes, though that could be false. 

It's not clear if Mexico has really won this battle. They are claiming that all the barricades are down and the Sinaloa cartel has been routed. Given that they deployed ground attack jets against the cartel I can believe that. Still, one battle is not the war and the cartel can regroup and continue the fight. 

I am afraid that we will see the same outcome we had in 2019 when Guzman was arrested. Another battle happened then as well but in that case Mexico gave into cowardice and allowed Guzman to be released. Of course they didn't win that battle like they won the battle today, so perhaps things will be different this time?

Guzman has been taken to Mexico City and that might help things. From what I understand Culiacan was a major stronghold for the Sinaloa cartel while Mexico City is not. That doesn't mean that they can't attack that area as well, but I think it would be a lot more difficult for them. Plus they are reeling from this battle and may have lost quite a few soldiers in the battles. 

It's unclear how many people were killed and injured in this battle. The only number I have seen was eight dead, but I would have to assume that the number is higher given the fact that heavy weapons were deployed. You don't call in air support without causing major casualties and the Mexicans did so today.  

The Mexican Drug War remains one of the least reported conflicts in the world. The conflict has killed thousands of people since it started in 2006, though exact casualties are hard to measure. Many have been killed in fighting but do you count murders committed by the cartels in that? 

The lack of coverage has always puzzled me. Even during the 2016 election, which focused on immigration, the massive war across the border between the cartels and government hardly got any coverage whatsoever. Things have mostly gotten worse now, Joe Biden is scheduled to go to Mexico next week, but I doubt the news will be talking about this battle or the war.