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Operation Mongoose Azteca
Operation Mongoose Azteca (August 1, 2022 – January 5, 2023) is the code name for a joint initiative by American and Mexican intelligence and military forces to uncover the criminal activities of the Sinaloa Cartel. This operation led to the capture of Ovidio Guzmán López (alias "El Ratón"), a son of the Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Following the operation, the Sinaloa Cartel orchestrated road blockades, gunfights, and riots in several municipalities, including Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa. After a period of sustained surveillance and joint intelligence work, Mexican forces located and recaptured Ovidio Guzmán in the town of Jesús María.
Ovidio Guzmán was first captured on October 17, 2019, at his home in Culiacán. Minutes after his arrest, the Sinaloa Cartel launched a violent offensive, with armed confrontations across the city and threats to attack civilians. On the orders of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Ovidio Guzmán was released and armed forces withdrew from the area to avoid further bloodshed.
The failed operation, often called the "Culiacanazo," resulted in eight deaths (including one civilian), sixteen injuries, nineteen street blockades, fourteen armed confrontations, eight soldiers captured and released, and 68 military vehicles damaged by gunfire. The cartel also attacked the military headquarters in Culiacán and the state's C4 command center. During the chaos, 51 inmates escaped from the Aguaruto prison after a riot in which five guards were disarmed; two of the escapees were recaptured within hours.
After his release, Ovidio Guzmán was seen in public in February 2020, attending the wedding of his half-sister, Alejandrina Gisselle Guzmán, at the Culiacán Cathedral, which had been closed to the public for the event. The wedding gained significant attention on social media after photos and videos of his presence were circulated.
In December 2021, the United States Department of State offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Ovidio and his three brothers.
According to leaked files from Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), the US began coordinating with SEDENA in May 2021 on investigative operations against the Sinaloa Cartel, utilizing a platform called the Air and Marine Operations Surveillance System (AMOSS).
Operation Mongoose Azteca was officially launched by August 1, 2022. Hacked emails from the Guacamaya group revealed that officials from the US embassy had intercepted communications between cartel members working for Ovidio Guzmán. These "hawks" were monitored in the Sinaloan municipalities of Badiraguato, Culiacán, Navolato, and Elota. US Customs and Border Protection provided SEDENA with intelligence reports from this surveillance.
Among the conversations considered relevant, which US intelligence logged as "events," were two wiretap reports from August 8 and 9, 2022, that mentioned Ovidio Guzmán. Below is a summary of the intercepted communications.
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Operation Mongoose Azteca
Operation Mongoose Azteca (August 1, 2022 – January 5, 2023) is the code name for a joint initiative by American and Mexican intelligence and military forces to uncover the criminal activities of the Sinaloa Cartel. This operation led to the capture of Ovidio Guzmán López (alias "El Ratón"), a son of the Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Following the operation, the Sinaloa Cartel orchestrated road blockades, gunfights, and riots in several municipalities, including Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa. After a period of sustained surveillance and joint intelligence work, Mexican forces located and recaptured Ovidio Guzmán in the town of Jesús María.
Ovidio Guzmán was first captured on October 17, 2019, at his home in Culiacán. Minutes after his arrest, the Sinaloa Cartel launched a violent offensive, with armed confrontations across the city and threats to attack civilians. On the orders of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Ovidio Guzmán was released and armed forces withdrew from the area to avoid further bloodshed.
The failed operation, often called the "Culiacanazo," resulted in eight deaths (including one civilian), sixteen injuries, nineteen street blockades, fourteen armed confrontations, eight soldiers captured and released, and 68 military vehicles damaged by gunfire. The cartel also attacked the military headquarters in Culiacán and the state's C4 command center. During the chaos, 51 inmates escaped from the Aguaruto prison after a riot in which five guards were disarmed; two of the escapees were recaptured within hours.
After his release, Ovidio Guzmán was seen in public in February 2020, attending the wedding of his half-sister, Alejandrina Gisselle Guzmán, at the Culiacán Cathedral, which had been closed to the public for the event. The wedding gained significant attention on social media after photos and videos of his presence were circulated.
In December 2021, the United States Department of State offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Ovidio and his three brothers.
According to leaked files from Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), the US began coordinating with SEDENA in May 2021 on investigative operations against the Sinaloa Cartel, utilizing a platform called the Air and Marine Operations Surveillance System (AMOSS).
Operation Mongoose Azteca was officially launched by August 1, 2022. Hacked emails from the Guacamaya group revealed that officials from the US embassy had intercepted communications between cartel members working for Ovidio Guzmán. These "hawks" were monitored in the Sinaloan municipalities of Badiraguato, Culiacán, Navolato, and Elota. US Customs and Border Protection provided SEDENA with intelligence reports from this surveillance.
Among the conversations considered relevant, which US intelligence logged as "events," were two wiretap reports from August 8 and 9, 2022, that mentioned Ovidio Guzmán. Below is a summary of the intercepted communications.