On the morning of January 5th… At 4 o’clock… Location A very luxurious mansion located on the hills of Jesus Maria, a small town 40 minutes from Culiacan, the capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa…
This is the son of Joaquin Guzman, known to the whole world as “El Chapo” or “Squirt”. Ovidio Guzmanbelonging to
The Mexican military detained Ovidio earlier this month in a raid on his home. In addition to hundreds of private soldiers, warplanes and helicopters also took part in the operation. The mansion, which had been the scene of the family’s New Year’s Eve celebration the night before, turned into a battlefield within minutes.
THE SMALLEST OF THE SMALL CHAPOS
Ovidio, who was at home with his wife, mother and three daughters aged 3, 6 and 12 at the time of the raid, is the youngest of four brothers known to the Mexican public as “Los Chapitos” (little Chapos).
Father Joaquin GuzmanFollowing his arrest in 2016 and extradition to the United States for trial in 2017, Ovidio took over the administration of the Sinaloa Cartel, along with his 36-year-old elder brother Joaquin and his brothers, who were born to another mother, Ivan Archivaldo (39) and Jesus Alfredo (36).
5 million to the person who will ensure the capture of Ovidio in December 2021. dollar He promised a reward.
Considered one of the most powerful and violent criminal organizations in the world, the Sinaloa Cartel has connections all over Latin America. In addition to the drug trade, the cartel is also engaged in business such as immigration and wood smuggling. In addition to the Chapitos, Ismael Zambada (one of the founders of the cartel) and El Chapo’s brother Aureliano Guzman, known as “El Guano”, also have a say in the management of the cartel.
The raid lasted 10 minutes, the clashes lasted 10 hours
In the statement made by the Mexican army, it was stated that Ovidio was caught within the first 10 minutes of the raid. However, the work did not end there.
Clashes between cartel members and Mexican forces continued for 10 hours, resulting in the loss of their lives and the town of Jesus Maria in ruins.
USA based news website VICE recently went to Jesus Maria, toured Ovidio’s home and wrote down the details of the raid.
PROTECTED BY THE WATCHERS FOR 24 HOURS
According to the news, the mansion of Ovidio, also known by the nicknames “El Bebe” (Baby) and “El Raton” (Mouse), is located on a hill overlooking the whole of Jesus Maria. Moreover, the only way to get in and out of the town is the highway that connects to Culiacan.
Since the mansion is located on the hill, there is a chance that Ovidio’s men can foresee the approach of law enforcement or other cartels and take action. As a matter of fact, it is known that many watchmen work around the house for 24 hours, and there are various checkpoints on the road leading to the mansion.
Eyewitnesses report that cartel members, called ‘sicario’, patrolled the area around the mansion with armored all-terrain vehicles equipped with machine guns.
The city of Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa
OVIDIO GUARDED
However, Ovidio and his men were caught off guard on the morning of January 5th. Not even Ovidio’s spirit heard it as a Mexican army helicopter landed in the backyard of the mansion and a line of soldiers made its way towards the front door, local sources told VICE.
A source inside the Mexican army, who asked not to be named, said: “The plan worked. About 20-25 soldiers from a task force broke into Guzman’s house and managed to take him over in less than 10 minutes.”
The armored luxury vehicles belonging to Ovidio and his wife were rendered unusable by gunfire with high-caliber weapons.
Just like his father, Ovidio’s home had a tunnel in the backyard that led to a parking lot outside the mansion. However, Ovidio did not find the opportunity to escape through this tunnel. The entrance of the tunnel, which was normally covered with a concrete block, was detected during the searches made after the raid.
ALSO CAUGHT IN 2019
The Mexican government detained Ovidio in a similar operation in 2019. However, when the cartel’s reaction to the operation snowballed into a bloody uprising, the government was forced to step back and experienced great embarrassment in the international arena. The event went down in Mexican history as Black Thursday or “Culiacanazo”.
The whole world watched the violent conflicts and spilled blood in those days in horror thanks to the videos shared on social media. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said months later that he personally ordered Ovidio’s release, saying that his aim was to protect the majority of the people.
After this incident, Ovidio became quite famous. Photos of him taking a defiant stance went viral on the country’s social media. But he wasn’t really that brave, according to army sources who spoke to VICE. Constantly in fear of being caught, he sprinted between homes in Culiacan, Jesus Maria, and other nearby towns.
The left square is from 2019, the right is from this year (Photos: Mexican Government)
THEY SLEEP DURING THE RAID
Ovidio, who decided to stay away because he wanted to protect his family before Christmas and New Year’s holidays, changed his mind at the last minute and ordered his 12 most trusted men to secure his house in Jesus Maria in the last days of December. So he could bring his family home and they would all enter the new year together.
Neighbors said that Ovidio came home alone; He said his wife, daughters, and El Chapo’s second wife, mother, Griselda Lopez Perez, 63, joined him a few weeks later.
El Chapo and Griselda Lopez Perez had a third son, Edgar, with Ovidio and Joaquin. Edgar was shot and killed in 2008 while having fun with his friends in the parking lot of a shopping mall in Culiacan. El Chapo bought all the roses in Culiacan (50,000 as described in Lupillo Rivera’s song ’50 Mile Rosas’) and sent them to Edgar’s funeral.
A neighbor, who did not want to be named, explained that a cook, waiters and a mariachi group were hired for the party held the night before the raid, and that the children opened their Christmas presents during the entertainment and added: “They were sleeping when the soldiers arrived. It was 4 in the morning.”
Mexican President Lopez Obrador held a press conference after the operation
THE RESULT OF THE Dominant 6-MONTH PLANNING
In the statements of the Mexican authorities, it was stated that the operation carried out by three special units in the army was the result of a 6-month planning process.
Learning from the 2019 fiasco, the Mexican government transported Ovidio by helicopter from Sinaloa, where violence and looting took place, to Mexico City, shortly after capturing him. Cartel members set fire to buses, blocked streets and highways, and even opened fire on a military plane in and around Culiacan.
Mexican Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval announced that 29 people, including 10 soldiers and 19 cartel members, lost their lives in the operation in Culiacan, where Ovidio was detained. In addition to Ovidio, 21 people were detained. Locals say the death toll could be much higher, as more than 100 people, mostly young men, have not been heard from.
AT THE PRISON WHERE HIS FATHER ESTABLISHED
When Mexican President Lopez Obrador took office in 2018 with the slogan “Hugs, not bullets”, he promised to go to the roots instead of tackling violence. In the following years, whether this policy was successful or not was the subject of debate. The capture of Ovidio in such an armed operation also inflamed these discussions.
Ovidio is currently held in the high-security Altiplano Prison in the state of Mexico. El Chapo also stayed in this prison for 7 years since 2008, and when he escaped in 2015, he was reflected in the headlines of the world press.
The answer to the question of what’s next for Ovidio is unclear.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the US wanted Ovidio’s extradition, but that the young Guzman might have been tried and convicted in his country before.
On the other hand, Ovidio’s lawyers filed an appeal on 13 January to stay the extradition order. However, the judge rejected the application due to errors in the documents. On the other hand, sources speaking to VICE stated that the return process may never be completed.
El Chapo escaped from the Altiplano on July 11, 2015, using a mile-long tunnel he had dug under the shower in his cell.
“THE WEAKEST LINK OF THE CARTEL”
Despite being caught in an operation like a movie, it is stated that Ovidio’s influence in the cartel is very limited, especially when compared to Ivan.
Ovidio, fentanyl, a synthetic drug MexicanIt is associated with an increase in its production in China and its trade to the United States. However, sources state that the main reason for Ovidio’s public recognition is the fiasco after his arrest in 2019.
For many years, Ovidio was the least known member of the Guzman criminal dynasty. His name was first mentioned along with his father and older brother Ivan in a sanction decision taken by the US Treasury Department in 2012. Despite this, he managed not to attract attention for a long time until he was taken into custody in 2019.
On the other hand, Ivan became the face of the Chapitos. Well-known to the public and security forces for his involvement in the 2004 murder of a Canadian university student in Guadalajara, Ivan was arrested in 2005 on money laundering charges but was released a few years later due to lack of evidence.
Since then, Ivan and his brother Jesus Alfredo have also become famous for their posts on the internet. The themes of money, weapons and beautiful women come to the fore in the shares made on Twitter and Instagram accounts, which are thought to belong to the brothers.
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