Mexican authorities have arrested drug gang leader Ovidio Guzman, a son of incarcerated kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, five officials familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
News of the capture came after a night of violence in the city of Culiacan in the northern state of Sinaloa, home to the drug cartel of the same name, and one of the world's most powerful narcotics trafficking organizations.
Ovidio, who has become a key figure in the Sinaloa Cartel following his father's arrest, was briefly detained in 2019 by security forces, but quickly released to end violent retribution from his drug gang in an embarrassing setback for Mexican authorities.
The United States had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Ovidio. His capture comes just days before a North American leaders' summit in Mexico City next week, which U.S. President Joe Biden will attend and at which security issues will be on the agenda.
A Mexican official said Guzman's capture was likely to prove a welcome addition to U.S.-Mexico cooperation on security ahead of Biden's visit.
On Thursday morning, security forces were attempting to contain a violent reaction to the arrest in the Culiacan area by Guzman's associates, the same official said. The city's airport was closed and will remain so until Thursday night, it said on Twitter.
The local administration urged people to stay indoors and said schools and administrative offices were closed due to violence. Unverified videos on social media appeared to show heavy gunfire, including from helicopters during the night. Street blockades had also been erected.
"We ask the citizens of Culiacan not to leave home due to the blockades that have occurred in different parts of the city," Culiacan Mayor Juan de Dios Gamez wrote on Twitter.
Joaquin Guzman, 65, was convicted in New York in 2019 of trafficking drugs worth billions of dollars to the United States and conspiring to murder his rivals. He is serving a life sentence at Colorado's Supermax, the most secure U.S. federal prison.
