Sinaloa cartel shoots at Aeromexico plane in retaliation of El Chapo son’s arrest

Sinaloa cartel shoots at Aeromexico plane in retaliation of El Chapo son’s arrest | Secret Flying

Sinaloa cartel launches violent response as El Chapo’s son arrested.

 

Aeromexico confirmed that the fuselage of a plane scheduled to fly from Culiacán, Sinaloa to Mexico City was hit by gunfire Thursday morning.

 

According to reports, violence broke out throughout Culiacan after the arrest of Ovidio Guzman, the son of the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo, and a senior member of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

 

In typical cartel fashion, the criminal organisation responded by reigning terror on members of the public to pressure authorities to release Ovidio.

 

Members of the cartel shot live ammunition against at least two planes, a Boeing 737-800 operated by the Mexican Air Force and an Embraer E190 operated by Aeromexico Connect.

 

The Aeromexico plane was taxiing to the runway when it was hit.

 

Videos posted online show passengers ducking for cover as the plane speeds across the airport to avoid being hit again.

 

An Aeromexico flight attendant said the engine had been hit, triggering a leak. The crew directed passengers to disembark, moving them to a windowless waiting room in the airport.

 

“We prefer to stay at the airport until it’s safe to leave,” he said. “The city is worse. There is a lot of shooting and confusion.”

 

Authorities decided to close at least three airports, Culiacán International, Mazatlán International, and Los Mochis International, until further notice.

 

In a statement, Aeroemexico said: “This morning, we detected a bullet hole in the fuselage of an Embraer E190 aircraft that was ready to operate the flight AM165 on the route Culiacán-Mexico City. The flight was canceled for safety reasons.

 

“The plane never began its departure. After this incident, all safety protocols were activated, we informed the authorities, with whom we will coordinate the investigations. The clients and employees are safe.”

 

Elsewhere in the city, gunmen exchanged fire with security forces, blocking roads with burning vehicles and shooting at army helicopters and police aeroplanes bringing reinforcements to the city.

 

In a video posted online, a cartel member can be seen trying to shoot a military plane down.

 

 

“We continue to work on controlling the situation,” said Cristobal Castaneda, Sinaloa’s public security chief.

 

Ovidio Guzmán, 32, was previously detained in Culiacán in 2019, but quickly released after a violent response from the gang in an episode which became a major embarrassment for the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

 

Experts say the weakness shown by authorities in 2019 has added extra motivation for the cartel to create havoc after his recapture.