MEXICO CITY (Reuters)

The United States has asked Mexico’s government to extradite Ovidio Guzman, son of jailed drug boss Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, so that he can face criminal charges in a US court, two Mexican government sources told Reuters.

Mexican security forces arrested the younger Guzman, wanted on drug trafficking charges, in January after an intense firefight near the city of Culiacan, in the northern Sinaloa state, the longtime home base for his father’s still-powerful drug smuggling empire.

The January arrest triggered a wave of violence, leaving dozens dead.

‘El Chapo’ rose to power as the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, before he was extradited to the United States in 2017.

Soldiers detained Ovidio in 2019 but he was quickly released as his capture sparked a massive influx of gunmen into Culiacan.

The failed operation was a political embarrassment at the time to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

In 2021, the US State Department had offered a US$5-million reward for information leading to Ovidio’s arrest or conviction.

Ovidio has been charged in the US with conspiracy to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the country.

READ: Mexico arrests Ovidio Guzman, son of ‘El Chapo,’ city engulfed by violence