In the early hours of Thursday, January 5, a series of shootings and drug blockades were recorded in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico with burning vehicles. It was reported that it was reportedly related to an operation to arrest Ovidio Guzman, son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

The attacks reportedly took place in the north and south of Culiacán. Ovidio was finally arrested, state government sources confirmed.

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Last month it was reported that the Mexican Army refused to arrest two of convicted drug lord El Chapo’s sons following an alert from the DEA that they had their location, according to leaked documents reported by Mexican media.

Who is Ovidio Guzman?

According to the US Department of State’s website, “Ovidio Guzman-Lopez is a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel and the son of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin Guzman-Loera. Law enforcement investigations indicate Ovidio and his brother, Joaquin Guzman-Lopez, function in high-level command and control roles of their own drug trafficking organization, the Guzman-Lopez Transnational Criminal Organization, under the umbrella of the Sinaloa Cartel.” 

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Los Chapitos (as the brothers are collectively known) Ovidio, Ivan, and Joaquin are major targets for U.S. and Mexican law enforcement. Last year, the U.S. government offered a reward of $5 million to anyone with information that could lead to the capture of any of the three men.   

Ovidio and Joaquín inherited a great deal of the narcotics proceeds and began investing large amounts of the cash into the purchasing of marijuana in Mexico and cocaine in Colombia. They also began purchasing large amounts of ephedrine from Argentina and arranged for the smuggling of the product into Mexico as they began to experiment with methamphetamine production, according to the state department. 

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It is estimated that the Guzman-Lopez brothers are currently overseeing approximately eleven methamphetamine labs in the state of Sinaloa producing an estimated 3,000- 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine per month. 

On April 2, 2018, both of the Guzmán-López brothers were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Columbia and charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, 500 grams of methamphetamine, and 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.