Mexico’s military clashed with gunmen from the Sinaloa Cartel in a fierce battle over the weekend. They terrorized a town in an attempt to rescue a detained cell leader.
The incident took place Saturday in Altar, Sonora, where military arrested Francisco “El Duranguillo” Torres Carranza, the leader of the Delta Group of the Gente Nueva faction within the Sinaloa Cartel. Gente Nueva is controlled by the “Chapitos” — sons of jailed Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
After the arrest, a large number of gunmen from the Sinaloa Cartel set up blockades around the town and tried to pressure the military into a release.
Surveillance video captured the moment when soldiers successfully fought back against cartel gunmen.
Initially, Mexican officials were silent about the case. On Sunday evening, Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo confirmed the arrest of El Duranguillo as a bid to show improving security conditions in his state.
The video showing gunmen running for cover was widely cheered on social media since it depicted a contrast to the words often spoken by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador about using hugs instead of bullets “abrazos no balazos” with cartels.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.