Washington DC

The United States has asked Mexico to extradite drug lord El Chapo's powerful son, Ovidio Guzmán-López, nearly two months after he was arrested amid deadly clashes that killed 29. Mexico's Culiacán city was gripped in a long spell of terror and violence on January 5 when drug cartel gunmen fought against security personnel and tried to stop them from taking away Ovidio Guzmán-López. Nicknamed "El Raton” (The Mouse), he has been linked to his father's former drug cartel. Ten members of the military were among those who died in the bloodshed, apart from 19 alleged cartel shooters.

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The 32-year-old allegedly directed 11 methamphetamine production facilities in the state of Sinaloa that produce between 3,000 and 5,000 pounds of the drug every month. Sinaloa drug cartel is among the largest drug-trafficking organisations in the world.  

"Ovidio Guzmán-López is a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel and the son of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán-Loera (aka El Chapo). Law enforcement investigations indicate Ovidio and his brother, Joaquín Guzmán-López, function in high-level command and control roles of their own drug trafficking organization, the Guzmán-López Transnational Criminal Organization, under the umbrella of the Sinaloa Cartel," reads a December 2021 statement from the US State Department, which also highlighted that "methamphetamine is sold wholesale to other Sinaloa members and to distributors based in the US and Canada."

Also watch: Mexico captures son of 'El Chapo' sparking wave of violence

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His capture came days before US President Joe Biden's visit to Mexico for  a summit of North American leaders. The six-month-long surveillance operation to capture him was supported by US officials, a BBC report highlighted.

Also read: Mexico to consider jailed drug kingpin El Chapo's request to return from US

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Ovidio is currently imprisoned in a high-security federal prison in Mexico while his father is jailed in western US state of Colorado.

(With inputs from agencies)

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