A total of 29 people died from the violence unleashed since early Thursday morning in the Mexican state of Sinaloa after the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, most wanted by the US.
This Friday, during a press conference accompanied by the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Secretary of Defense, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, explained that of the 29 deceased, 10 belonged to the Mexican Armed Forces and 19 to the criminal groups that provoked violent acts.
“Ten soldiers lost their lives in the line of duty in order to guarantee security. The Mexican State will give them funeral honors,” Sandoval pointed out.
Regarding the number of injuries, the official reported that so far 35 soldiers have been recorded injured by firearms, as well as damage to various land and air vehicles of the Armed Forces.
He also assured that during the operation, 21 members of organized crime were arrested, allegedly linked to Ovidio Guzmán.
He also pointed out that 3,586 members of the Armed Forces participated in the operation and after the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán in the early hours of Thursday, who faced the violence unleashed in the streets of cities such as Culiacán, Los Mochis and Mazatlán.
For his part, López Obrador emphasized that the government acted in a “responsible” manner to “take care of the civilian population, so that there were no innocent victims.”
“There are no armed groups in Sinaloa, in blockades, which are already removing since yesterday all the cars that were set on fire and that they used to block the streets, practically in the entire city (of Culiacán),” said the president.
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