Image: El Chapo’s son is in a mug shot for the first time since his arrest

Mexican authorities have released the mugshot of jailed drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s son, a day after he was arrested in an intense gun battle between the military and armed cartels that killed at least 29 people.

Ovidio “El Raton” Guzman, whose nickname means “the mouse,” was captured Thursday amid gun battles that turned the northern city of Culiacan into a war zone, three years after a botched capture attempt turned similarly violent.

In a blow-by-blow description of the fighting that killed 10 military personnel and 19 suspected Sinaloa drug cartel members, Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said cartel gunmen opened fire on troops with .50-caliber machine guns.

The Army responded by calling in Blackhawk attack helicopters to attack a convoy of 25 cartel vehicles Thursday, including truck-mounted cartel gun platforms.

In the ongoing shooting, one Culiacan police officer was killed and 17 police officers and 35 military personnel were injured.

Ovidio “El Raton” Guzman, whose nickname means “the mouse,” was captured Thursday amid gun battles that turned the northern city of Culiacan into a war zone

A burning car is seen on the road in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, during an operation to arrest Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s son, Ovidio Guzman, on Thursday

The cartel then opened fire on the military planes, forcing two of them down with “a significant number of impacts” in each of the two planes, Sandoval said. The gang then sent hordes of gunmen to attack both military and civilian airplanes at the city’s international airport.

A civilian plane was hit. The gunmen also fired at airport buildings to stop authorities from flying the captured cartel boss out of town. But, Sandoval said, in anticipation of the resistance, authorities loaded Ovidio Guzman onto a military helicopter to fly him back to Mexico City.

The Mexican government bagged the high-profile cartel figure days before receiving US President Joe Biden.

Samuel González, who founded Mexico’s special prosecutor’s office for organized crime in the 1990s, said Guzmán’s capture was a “gift” before Biden’s visit. The Mexican government “is working on a quiet visit,” he said.

Juan Carlos Ayala, a Culiacan resident and Sinaloa University professor who studies the sociology of drug trafficking, said Ovidio Guzmán had been an obvious target for years.

“Ovidio’s fate was decided. In addition, he has been identified as the largest fentanyl dealer and most visible Chapos leader.’

Ovidio Guzman was spotted in a previous arrest in 2019. In this case, Mexican security forces had to release him after his gunmen shot dead the western town of Culiacan

Members of the National Guard patrol the streets during an operation to apprehend Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s son, Ovidio Guzman, in Culiacan

The Mexican Army escorted the National Guard to protect the Federal Social Reintegration Center after Ovidio Guzman was transported there by military helicopter

Ayala said the atmosphere was calmer on Friday, “but there are still many burned-out vehicles blocking the roads.”

Such was the level of violence on Thursday that Sinaloa Gov. Ruben Rocha said cartel gunmen showed up at local hospitals and tried to kidnap doctors and take them away to treat wounded militants.

Rocha said gunmen would be treated if they showed up at hospitals, but that gunmen should not attempt to kidnap medical workers.

“It got to the point that in one moment the doctors said, ‘We’re getting out of here,'” Rocha recalls, saying the police tightened security and convinced the doctors to stay.

Culiacan residents posted video on social media showing convoys of gunmen in pickup trucks and SUVs rolling down the city’s boulevards on Thursday. At least one convoy contained a flatbed truck with a gun mounted at the rear.

Despite the violence, Ayala said many Culiacan residents could still support the cartel.

Police take security measures during the operation to arrest Ovidio Guzman Lopez by elements of Mexico’s National Defense Secretariat in Culiacan

Police examine an abandoned civilian vehicle during the operation to arrest Ovidio Guzman

That may be because of the money the gang is bringing into the area, but also because locals know the cartel will still be around after federal troops leave. Bad as it is, the cartel has ensured relative stability, if not peace.

Guzmán was indicted by the United States in 2018 on drug trafficking charges. According to both governments, he had assumed a growing role among his brothers by continuing their father’s business, along with longtime cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.

Secretary of State Marcelo Ebrard confirmed that in 2019 the government received a request from the United States to arrest Guzmán for extradition.

He said that this application needs to be updated and processed, but he added that Guzmán has an open case waiting for him in Mexico first.

Ismael Bojorquez, director of the local Riodoce news agency, which specializes in reporting on drug trafficking in the region, said the violent response had to do with the president’s less aggressive stance on organized crime.

The Mexican Army accompanied the National Guard to protect Ovidio Guzman’s prison

“They (cartels) have used these four years to organize, to arm, to strengthen their structures and their finances,” he said.

“I think there are more guns than three years ago. All organized crime armies have strengthened, not just the Chapitos, and that is the price society is paying for this federal government strategy.”

At Culiacan Airport, a commercial plane was waiting for its chance to take off when two large military planes landed with troops, as did three or four military helicopters, and marines and soldiers began to station themselves at the edge of the runway.

As the airline’s flight finally prepared to accelerate, passengers heard gunshots in the distance. Within 15 seconds, the sound was suddenly more intense and much closer, and passengers threw themselves on the ground, some said.

They said they didn’t know the plane had been hit by gunfire until a flight attendant told them. No one was injured, but the plane hastily retreated to the terminal.