Police arrived at Guzman’s compound earlier in full force – armed officers on foot, even trucks and jeeps with mounted weapons. But masked gunmen working for the kingpin apparently overpowered them, trading heavy gunfire that left “blazing vehicles strewn across the street” and forced locals to take shelter in schools and supermarkets as shops closed to avoid the violence.

Ovidio Guzman, briefly apprehended on Thursday in the city of Culiacan, was released, Security Minister Alfonso Durazo confirmed following hours of uncertainty and reports of heavy gun battles in El Chapo’s home state of Sinaloa. Authorities were forced to make this decision in order to “protect lives,” the minister told Reuters.

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