El Chapo’s son kidnapped

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 on Tuesday.
Jalisco state Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer said 29-year-old Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar had been determined to be among those taken, though authorities still had not received any missing person complaints. Earlier in the day, Almaguer had said authorities were trying to confirm whether another Guzman son, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman, was among those abducted.
He later said that authorities had identified four of the six men marched out of the upscale restaurant by seven armed assailants. He did not say whether Ivan could be one of the two still not identified.
Almaguer said officials have determined the kidnappers belonged to the Jalisco New Generation cartel, the dominant criminal group in the state. The victims are all believed to be from the rival Sinaloa cartel headed by Guzman in the neighbouring state of Sinaloa.
Experts have said Ivan Archivaldo assumed control of parts of the cartel’s drug operations after his father was re-arrested in January.
After reviewing security camera footage, Almaguer said that besides the restaurant’s staff, there were nine women and seven men dining together when the gunmen burst in early on Monday.
“The subjects enter, control the diners, separate the women to a side and violently take them [the men],” he said in an interview with The Associated Press prior to the news conference. “They resisted; however, these criminals who arrived did it with certain violence with long guns.”
Almaguer said one of the men managed to escape. He said authorities also had not located any of the women who were left behind.
Experts said the kidnapping could be the latest in a string of attacks against Guzman’s family, perhaps suggesting the drug lord has lost control of his cartel. He purportedly ran affairs from prison until his second escape in 2015, but since being recaptured had been kept under stricter security measures.
NAMPA/AP