One of the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is among the half-dozen men abducted by gunmen at a restaurant in the Mexican beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, authorities said Tuesday.
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Seven armed men stormed into the restaurant, separating the men in Guzman’s group from the nine women accompanying them, Almaguer said.
The incident unfolded inside the trendy white-walled eatery, whose name translates to Milk, on Francisco Medina Ascencio Avenue, a popular tourist destination.
Jalisco, which lies south along the Pacific coast from Sinaloa, is also home to the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which has become one of the country’s most powerful drug gangs in recent years.
He said that a search was underway to find and rescue those who were abducted with the help of federal authorities.
The six suspected gang members were abducted at La Leche restaurant in the early hours of Monday in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco state.
Prosecutors in the western state of Jalisco said that two SUVs with several gunmen arrived at around 1am at the restaurant which is on the city’s main boulevard, which runs through the hotel district.
An examination of items found in the cars of the victims, sitting abandoned in the restaurant parking lot, allowed authorities to confirm that Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, 29, is one of the hostages, Almaguer told a press conference in Puerto Vallarta.
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Almaguer says the kidnappers appear to belong to the state’s dominant Jalisco New Generation drug cartel and the victims are from the rival Sinaloa cartel.
