Mexico braced for violence after abduction of drug kingpin’s son
There is a risk that the Mexican state of Jalisco could imminently be engulfed in violence. On 15 August a group of men were abducted from a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, one of the state’s top beach resorts, by seven hitmen. Doubt surrounds the identity of the kidnapped men and who was behind the crime, but the authorities swiftly concluded that it was part of a feud between drug trafficking organisations (DTOs). The next day it was confirmed that one of the abducted men was a son of the drug kingpin Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Loera, the imprisoned leader of the Sinaloa/Pacífico DTO. The Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) is being held responsible by the state authorities. If true, this could lead to an explosion of violence between Mexico’s two largest DTOs.