Sinaloa, Mexico, engulfed in violence and chaos following the arrest of El Chapo’s son, ahead of Biden’s visit to the country

The state of Sinaloa, Mexicois hit by a wave of violence, officials say, following the arrest of the son of jailed drug cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán in the days leading up to President Biden’s visit to the country.

Sinaloa state governor Ruben Rocha told Reuters that so far seven members of Mexico’s security forces have been killed and 21 injured in a dozen clashes in northern Sinaloa state. , home to the cartel of the same name that was once led by El Chapo. Ovidio Guzmán, his son, was arrested there on Thursday by Mexican authorities, officials confirmed.

Rocha also said there were 25 acts of looting and 250 vehicles set on fire to block roads, with most of the unrest occurring in the town of Culiacan.

“We continue to work to control the situation,” Cristobal Castaneda, the region’s public security chief, said Thursday as authorities closed schools and urged residents to stay indoors.

EL CHAPO’S SON WAS CAPTURED IN SINALOA IN A MEXICAN MILITARY OPERATION

Mexican authorities had previously detained Ovidio Guzmán in 2019, but quickly released him to avoid a massive confrontation with cartel forces.

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Culiacan airport was also engulfed in violence, with airline Aeromexico reporting that one of its planes was hit by bullets before a scheduled flight to Mexico City, according to Reuters.

BIDEN ANNOUNCES VISIT TO U.S.-MEXICO BORDER, NEW MEASURES AS PRESSURE MOUNTS ON MIGRANT CHANGE

A passenger on that plane, who boarded with his wife and three children, told the news agency that his family had decided to stay at the airport until the situation calmed down.

“The city is worse,” said David Tellez. “There’s a lot of shooting and confusion.”

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Mexico’s federal aviation agency said a Mexican Air Force plane was also shot down, Reuters reports.

Biden is ready to visit the US-Mexico border over the weekend before heading to Mexico City for meetings with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

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