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MEXICO CITY — Mexican security forces captured and then released one of the country’s most powerful drug lords Thursday after apparently being overpowered by heavily armed combatants who laid siege to the northern Mexican city of Culiacan.
Security Minister Alfonso Durazo told Reuters that officials were trying to protect lives when they decided to free Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel and the son of notorious drug boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Others speculated, however, that authorities may have colluded with gang members in Guzman’s release.