Mexican soldiers captured three of the closest allies of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s brother in an operation backed by US intelligence, the military said Thursday.
Ten members of the faction of the Sinaloa cartel led by Aureliano Guzman Loera, known as “El Guano,” were captured in the operation.
The raid was carried out with intelligence provided by the US, the military said.
The detentions took place in Tamazula, a mountainous village near the border between the states of Durango and Sinaloa where “El Guano” exercised his greatest influence.
Among the detained were Aureliano’s Guzman’s “right-hand man,” chief bodyguard, and financial and logistical aide, the defense secretary said in a statement.
Mexican marines supported by helicopters had deployed in December to the same region on another operation to try and capture Aureliano Guzman, according to local journalists.
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is carrying out a life sentence in the United States, where two of his sons are also awaiting trial.
His associates have unleashed a war over control of the Sinaloa cartel against factions tied to Ismael Zambada, the cofounder of the group who is also awaiting trial in the United States.
The military raid in the mountainous sierra where “El Chapo” used to hide took place amid tensions between Mexico and the United States over the presence of two US agents in an anti-narcotics operation carried out without the apparent approval of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration.
US media outlets have said the US officials were CIA officers, whose presence was revealed following their deaths this weekend in the northern state of Chihuahua.
Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected military aid offered by US President Donald Trump to combat cartels.
The Mexican leader said that support from Washington should be limited to intelligence sharing, while prohibiting on-the-ground actions with foreign agents without authorization from the federal government.
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