Spotlight: Mexico will continue to rescue drug lord's kidnapped son

MEXICO CITY, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Mexico will not stop investigating a kidnapping of six people, including a son of jailed drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Eduardo Almaguer, prosecutor of the state of Jalisco in western Mexico, has said.

Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, nicknamed "Alfredillo," was kidnapped on Monday by armed men belonging to his father's rival cartel in a restaurant in the seaside resort city of Puerto Vallarta in western Mexico.

"Alfredillo" and his group were celebrating when they were surprisingly taken by armed attackers, who took the six men from the table and left women behind.

Almaguer said he wants to find Jesus Alfredo and other kidnapped men and arrest those responsible.

Mexico's national attorney general's office announced on Tuesday evening that a group of agents from the office that specialize in organized crime will join the investigation currently being carried out by the state government.

"Alfredillo," one of the three sons the Sinaloa cartel leader "El Chapo" had with his first wife Maria Alejandrina Salaza, has been wanted by Washington for several accusations presented before a federal court in Chicago since 2009, according to public documents surrounding the case.

An attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice has catalogued "Alfredillo" as a logistical coordinator who has acted in his father's name since around 2005, trafficking several kilograms of cocaine, heroine and marijuana into the United States as well as being in charge of sending the earnings from his drug sales back to Mexico.

The U.S. Treasury Department froze Jesus Alfredo's assets in the country in June 2012 and banned U.S. citizens from doing business or carrying out transactions with him, under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, known as the Kingpin Act.

The alleged drug trafficker is around 30 years old, six years younger than his brother Ivan Archivaldo who is also considered to be an operator within his father's criminal organization. His father, "El Chapo," who is currently in prison, has led the Sinaloa cartel since the 1990s.

This is not the first time that the drug lord's sons were attacked.

In May 2008, gunmen from the rival Beltran Leyva cartel killed Edgar Guzman Lopez, a son who "El Chapo" had with his third wife Griselda Lopez Perez.

However, Jesus Alfredo's kidnap is somewhat exceptional as it comes at a time when his father has spent the past seven months behind bars since his recapture in January after escaping in August 2015, criminologist and expert in drug trafficking Martin Barron told Xinhua.

"The fact that he is in prison is visible and, above all in Ciudad Juarez (in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua), has made part of his family vulnerable, to a certain extent, and Joaquin Guzman's rival groups have taken advantage of this," said Barron.

The criminologist said it is likely that the abduction will generate acts of revenge from members of the Sinaloa cartel against the responsible organization. Local authorities have suggested that the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel was responsible for the kidnapping.

This cartel emerged around 2010 after the restructuring of criminal gangs in the country, and Mexican security agents now believe this new cartel is operating in the state of Jalisco and states in central, south and east of Mexico, where they have been involved in shootouts, murders and others.

A possible escalation in violence has also been predicted by authorities in Jalisco and neighboring states, who said they are coordinating with the federal forces in order to reinforce surveillance measures both in the seaside resort and other parts of the region.

Related:

Court frees prison executive arrested after escape of drug lord "El Chapo"