A son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was among a group kidnapped from a restaurant in a Mexican tourist resort, authorities have confirmed.
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Jalisco state Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer said: “The person by the name of Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, age 29, is the son of Joaquin Guzman Loera”.
Almaguer said the kidnappers appeared to belong to the state’s dominant Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, while the victims were from the rival Sinaloa cartel.
El Chapo escaped again in July 2015, in what was widely seen as a major embarrassment to the government of President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Images published by El Blog del Narco show gunmen, believed to be from the rival Jalisco New Generation syndicate, storming in as the younger Guzman and his companions sit around a table.
A senior Mexican law enforcement says police are now searching for the kidnapped men in Michoacán, Nayarit, Jalisco and a fourth state he did not name.
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.
Ivan Archivaldo has reportedly taken over parts of his father’s business and Raul Benitez, a security specialist and political science teacher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico said the child’s mental health is a concern. Police said several women who accompanied the kidnapped men in the restaurant were not taken and unharmed.
“There is a war right now for control of the Sinaloa cartel and a central theme in that war is the issue of attacks on his family”, said Raul Benitez, a security specialist who teaches political science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
His lawyers are now seeking to block his looming extradition to the United States.
The cartel leader is awaiting extradition to the US and his lawyers complained that the new location made it hard for them to remain in contact with their client.
While it remains unclear who kidnapped Jesús Alfredo, this is not the first time one of El Chapo’s sons has been targeted.
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The criminologist said it is likely that the abduction will generate acts of revenge from members of the Sinaloa cartel against the responsible organization.
