'Arrest' of drug king pin El Chapo's son sparks fierce gun battle in Mexico

The Mexican president defended security forces on Friday over their handling of a shocking outbreak of drug violence, saying they had saved lives by releasing a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman after his bungled arrest.

A gun battle on Thursday paralysed the capital of Mexico's Sinaloa state and left the streets littered with burning vehicles, while footage showed civilian armed men moving around Culiacan in pickups and firing into the street in broad daylight.

There was confusion over whether one or two of Guzman's sons had been detained or even killed by the military.

El Chapo was sentenced to life in prison in a US jail earlier this year for the multi-billion-dollar drug-trafficking empire he oversaw.

Ovidio Guzman is now involved in the running of the Sinaloa Cartel following the extradition and sentencing of his father, along with his brother Ivan.

A video released by the Mexico government’s security chief after 8pm on Thursday night said that a military unit in the city came under fire during a routine patrol.

“The personnel fired back and took control of the house, in which they found four occupants. During that action, one of them was identified as Ovidio Guzmán López,” said Security Minister Alfonso Durazo.

But after going into the house and claiming to briefly detain Ovidio, government forces were soon surrounded by cartel soldiers who had “greater firepower than that of the patrol.”

They decided to retreat, to avoid a massacre. "It was decided to protect people's lives and I agreed. This is not about massacres. The capture of a criminal is not worth more than the lives of people. They made a decision and I backed it up," Andres Manuel López Obrador, the president, said on Friday.

But the soldiers may not have had much choice. Unverified walkie-talkie conversations that emerged yesterday afternoon allegedly showed the gunmen threatening Mexico’s military to let Ovidio go.

“Let him go, and go home in peace, nothing will happen to you,” one voice says on the recording. “If not, you're f--ked."

They also talked of going to wreak revenge on the homes of families of the soldiers involved in Ovidio's arrest. Sources speaking to the Telegraph from Culiacan said the city had been thrown into “chaos” amid gun battles.

The public security secretary confirmed to Mexican media that some 20 prisoners also escaped from the city’s jail during the violence, accompanied by armed men.

The escaped prisoners promptly detained cars on the streets, reportedly to make their way to the city centre to defend Ovidio.

There was still some confusion on Friday as to the whereabouts of another of El Chapo’s sons, Ivan – another powerful member of the cartel and initially implicated in the altercation.

Both Ovidio and Ivan have been indicted in the US for drug trafficking or related charges. If caught, Ovidio risks extradition to the United States, where he could join his father in an American jail cell.