One death and 18 injured, the balance of the operation in Culiacán against Ovidio Guzmán López

Juan José Moreno Orzua, an infantry colonel of the Army, was ambushed and killed by a group of armed men from the Sinaloa Cartel, as part of the violent reactions to the re-apprehension of Ovidio Guzmán López, son of drug trafficker Joaquín el Chapo Guzmán.

In the ambush, which occurred in the municipality of Escuinapa, Sinaloa, soldiers Manuel Alonso Díaz Medina and Ramón Alejandro Aguilar García were also injured.

The three left Culiacán, to go to support the Sinaloa border in the first military sector of 86 BI in Acaponeta, Nayarit, as part of the reinforcement of security in the entity after the capture of Ovidio.

The confrontation took place on the Mexico 15 federal highway, near the communities of El Trébol I and Hacienda La Campana.

Meanwhile, the governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, reported 18 injured people, most of them members of the Armed Forces, derived from the shootings caused by members of the Sinaloa Cartel.

In videos broadcast on social networks, the moment in which from helicopters, soldiers fired at the area where Ovidio Guzmán and his armed group that protected him were found.

An operation of this nature had not occurred in Mexico since 2017, when elements of the Navy fired bursts from a helicopter and killed Juan Francisco Patrón Sánchez H2, leader of the Beltrán Leyva, in Nayarit.

After the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, dozens of armed men from the Sinaloa or Pacific Cartel stole and burned trucks and vehicles in order to block the accesses and exits to Culiacán and, with this, prevent the extraction of their leader.

The airports of Culiacán, Mazatlán and Los Mochis were closed due to the riots. Until the closing of this edition, the Federal Civil Aviation Agency maintained the decision to suspend air operations in the three cities.

Aeroméxico confirmed yesterday that one of its planes that was going from Culiacán to CDMX was hit by a bullet while waiting on a runway to take off.

For its part, the Mexican Social Security Institute reported that as part of the security protocols for its beneficiaries and staff in Sinaloa, the Family Medicine Units, daycare centers and four subdelegations were closed in the state.

Outpatient consultation and scheduled surgeries were suspended, while emergency services will continue to operate. All of the above until further notice.

In addition to the drug blockades, local media reported acts of robbery in various businesses in Culiacán.

(With editorial information)

politica@eleconomista.mx