Mexican security forces were forced to release one of drug lord El Chapo's sons and retreat after heavily armed cartel fighters surrounded them and launched a war across the city of Culiacan.
The brief apprehension of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, triggered a raging gun battle on Thursday in the city that is home to the notorious drug kingpin's Sinaloa cartel.
Mexican Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said 30 members of the National Guard militarized police were patrolling an area in the city, 370 miles northwest of Mexico City, when they were fired on from a house.
Authorities fired back and were eventually able to enter the house where they found four cartel members inside, including Ovidio Guzman, who is accused of drug trafficking in the U.S.
Heavily armed gunmen quickly surrounded the home in retaliation and an intense, hours-long gunfight broke out as the civilians loyal to the drug lord opened fire on the security forces.
The patrol was eventually overpowered by the cartel gunmen and the decision was taken to set Ovidio Guzman free from the house and to withdraw to protect the lives of the National Guard and restore calm in the city, Durazo said.
Sinaloa public safety director Cristóbal Castañeda said two had been killed and 21 injured during the raging gunfight – but the true death toll is not yet clear with television images showing at least three bodies lying next to cars in the streets.
He said police had come under attack when they approached roadblocks manned by gunmen. He advised residents not to leave their homes.
The chaos was continuing as night fell.
A lawyer for El Chapo's family, José Luis González Meza, said that Guzmán's family had told him 'Ovidio is alive and free' but that he had no more details about what had happened.
His current whereabouts are unknown.
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