|
Mexico sends in troops after failed 'El Chapo' son arrest
 ...Curses! Foiled again!... to arrest the son of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman left eight dead last week. See "Barn Door - closed too late" During the operation last Thursday, heavily-armed members of Guzman's Sinaloa cartel launched an assault on security forces who had detained Ovidio Guzman, later prompting them to release him and retreat. Mexico's defense minister admitted that the operation was "badly planned," while Attorney General Alejandro Gertz announced on Monday that he would investigate those involved, including government officials. "It is not just about the actions of one public servant or one criminal. We will be analyzing all the facts ... to clarify what crimes may have been committed, then prosecute and punish them, without exception," Gertz told a news conference. PRESIDENT DEFENDS RELEASE President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has stood by the decision to release Ovidio Guzman, saying that many people would have otherwise been killed. "Not just the criminals, who are also human beings, the soldiers, who we must protect, but [also] civilians," he said. During the festivities, cartel members set up roadblocks, set fire to trucks and used military-style weapons. The government later seized a belt-fed machine gun, seven hand grenades, eight assault rifles and 20 vehicles. Mexican and US officials also met on Monday to discuss curbing gun smuggling across the border, with Mexico's foreign minister saying many of the guns used in the Culiacan assault were made in the United States. CONFIDENCE WAVERING IN GOVERNMENT Although the public appears to be split on whether security forces made the right call in letting Ovidio Guzman go, national polls show confidence in the government is lagging. In a survey by polling firm GCE, over 63% of respondents said they believed narcos and cartels were more powerful than the government. In a poll by newspaper Reforma, nearly 70% of respondents said gangs were strengthened by what happened during the botched arrest attempt. The target in Thursday's raid, 28-year-old Ovidio Guzman, is one of at least 10 children fathered by drug kingpin "El Chapo" Guzman. "El Chapo" is currently serving a life term in the US after being convicted in July for trafficking hundreds of tons of drugs. Related: Culiacan: 2019-10-19 Mexico admits freeing Chapo's son after badly planned operation Culiacan: 2019-08-30 Mexico Seizes 52,000 Pounds of Fentanyl From China Culiacan: 2018-08-20 Mexico finds 50 tonnes of meth in mountain lab Posted by: trailing wife 2019-10-22 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=553368 |