Intense fighting has erupted in the Mexican city of Culiacán, where masked gunmen threw up burning barricades and traded gunfire with security forces after authorities arrested one of the sons of the jailed former leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Mexico’s security minister, Alfonso Durazo, said a patrol by National Guard militarised police first came under attack from within a house in the city, 600 km (370 miles) northwest of Mexico City. After entering the house, they arrested Ovidio Guzmán López, who is accused of drug trafficking in the United States. However, the patrol was quickly overpowered by cartel gunmen, and the decision was taken to withdraw to protect the lives of the National Guard and restore calm in the city, where gangsters had set up roadblocks and were unleashing heavy automatic gunfire, Durazo said. Images shared on social media showed trucks with mounted heavy machine guns patrolling the city streets. Another clip showed a gunman with an assault rifle shooting at an unknown target against a soundtrack of continuous gunfire. LaGaceta.me (@LaGaceta_me)#ULTIMAHORA Detienen al hijo de El Chapo Guzmán, Iván Archibaldo Guzmán, lo que está ocasionando una fuerte balacera en #Culiacán #Sinaloa en esta ciudad […] read more