The United States on Tuesday targeted two Mexican companies, along with two Mexican men, for what it said was their role in assisting the infamous Sinaloa Cartel associated with drug lords Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
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Shortly before 1 a.m. on Monday, seven armed men stormed into a trendy restaurant on the main drag of Mexican beach resort Puerto Vallarta.
The Jalisco State attorney general’s office says forensic evidence found in a vehicle at the parking lot of the restaurant confirms that Jesus Alfredo Guzman was abducted.
“We have not found sustainable evidence that Guzman Loera’s other son (Ivan Archivaldo) was at this place”.
Authorities believe those involved in the kidnapping are part of cartels.
But Eduardo Almaguer, Jalisco state attorney general, isn’t so sure.
Authorities initially said 10 to 12 people had been kidnapped, but after analyzing security camera footage and interviewing witnesses, they said there were in fact six men abducted.
The elder Guzman Is believed to have almost a dozen children, Jesus Alfredo being the youngest of his children from his first marriage.
But in nearby Jalisco state, where Puerto Vallarta is located, the Jalisco New Generation cartel has emerged as a rival and become one of the country’s most powerful drug gangs in recent years.
El Chapo’s other son, Ivan, has taken over the family’s multi-billion dollar narcotics ring in his father’s absence and will likely resume that role if and when El Chapo is extradited.
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Police said several women who accompanied the kidnapped men in the restaurant were not taken and unharmed. “I can only confirm the presence of Jesus Alfredo”, Almaguer told Radio Formula. Guzman is awaiting extradition to the US. “El Chapo” purportedly ran affairs from prison until his second escape in 2015, but since being recaptured has been kept under stricter security measures and is now in prison in the northern border city of Juarez.
