The operation to capture Ovidio Guzman Lopez, the son of the notorious drug lord and former leader of an international crime syndicate Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was aborted by Mexican leaders to save the lives of their military members.

Sixteen people were reportedly injured and eight people died after an intense shootout with the attackers.

Alfonso Durazo, the state's Security Secretary, immediately announced the failed operation. He thoroughly gave information about how they were dishonorably outgunned by the group of Guzman.

The government convoy carried more than 24 armed military members and arrived in an upmarket neighborhood where Guzman was residing at 2:45 PM. The security successfully got a hold of four members inside, including El Chapo's son.

However, after a few moments, they found themselves overpowered by Guzman's wardens. The turn of events got more dangerous when the cartel's gunmen took the security as their hostages.

While the federal officers were fighting for their lives, more of Guzman's defenders were sent across the city to block the entrances in Culiacan by burning vehicles. The group also freed inmates from the nearby prison and even attacked a nearby government building to create more distractions and chaos.

Cartel pickup trucks also watched over the events, with at least one of them straddling with a .50-caliber machine gun.

By 5:30 PM, Mexico's cabinet members decided to halt the whole operation.

The extradition arrest warrant issued by a United States federal judge started the operation. However, the government sacrificed eight lives only to free the El Chapo's son in the end.

The victory of the Guzman group was a slap in the face of the Mexican government, and a massive dent to their failed attempts in eliminating violence across the country. The humiliation this week started on Monday when 14 police officers were killed by gunmen in Michoacan state.

Guzman's family held an on-air news session and disgraced Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by thanking him for releasing the syndicate's boss. Shameful comments about the government's inability to control the whole organized crime have also stormed the internet.

Locals felt dismayed with the fact that the government troop was immediately outnumbered after a few seconds of the "planned" capture.

The past dramatic escapes by the Guzmans resurfaced, including the famous two escape incidents of El Chapo when he successfully got away through a long tunnel connected in his cell.

Videos of the incident spread out in social media like a wildfire. A comment from Evevard Meade, a prrofessor from the University of San Diego, about the Mexican government's incompetence also caught the support of the people. He described the violence that took place as a miserable deterioration for the community in Culiacan.

According to Falko Ernst, Mexico analyst with the International Crisis Group, the Mexican government is no longer in control. He added that poor responses for this kind of violence and cruelty can trigger imitations. He also blasted Mexican government officials, who offer nothing but poor retorts.

Tags
El chapo, Son