Burning cars, roadblocks and hooded Sinaloa drug cartel members on motorcycles: Street fighting in Mexico has been escalating since Thursday after Ovidio Guzmán, 32, the son of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, 65, was arrested.
Stefan Brägger (41) has to experience the fierce fighting in the epicenter, the city of Culiacán, up close. The Swiss is currently on holiday in Mexico and is visiting his wife’s family when the chaos begins. In a conversation with Blick, he talks about frightening moments. “When it started, I was shocked.” His family reassured him: “As long as you stay calm, nothing will happen to you most of the time.”
“Like a Ghost Town”
Nevertheless: the rising smoke, the sound of gunfire and the uncertainty when it will all be over – the uneasy feeling remains. Especially since hardly any information is given to the population. “You don’t know what’s going on. The authorities don’t communicate,” says Brägger. “Everything is very confusing.”
Last night’s sleep was interrupted by isolated shots and the circling helicopters. “This morning the streets were deserted, a ghost town.” Because even when the fighting has subsided, there is no guarantee of safety – that is why the population prefers to stay indoors. Some dare to go to work, Brägger observes some cars on the street.
Swiss jammed – airport closed
The fighting extends to the local airport on Thursday and Friday. According to Aeromexico airline and the government, a passenger plane and a military plane were hit by bullets. Air traffic has been halted.
Brägger is also affected by the flight ban. He and his wife actually wanted to fly back to Switzerland yesterday, but then the fighting started. “It is quiet at the moment, but the airport is still closed.” It is unclear how long he and his wife will have to stay in Culiacan.
29 dead after arrest
According to the government, 29 people were killed in Guzmán’s arrest. Ten soldiers and 19 “lawbreakers” were among the dead, Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval, 62, said on Friday.
Ovidio Guzmán was arrested in northern Mexico on Thursday after suspected members of Guzmán’s drug cartel engaged in fierce gun battles with security forces. Guzmán cannot be extradited to the US for the time being. A federal judge on Friday, at the request of the 32-year-old’s lawyers, ruled that all procedures for Guzmán’s extradition should be halted until further notice.