Mexico nabs 10 Sinaloa cartel operatives in U.S.-backed raid targeting “El Chapo” brother’s crew

Mexican soldiers captured 10 members of the Sinaloa cartel faction run by Aureliano “El Guano” Guzman Loera — brother of jailed drug lord “El Chapo” — in a U.S. intelligence-backed raid, the military said Thursday.

Three of those arrested were described as Aureliano Guzman’s closest lieutenants: his right-hand man, chief bodyguard, and financial-logistics aide, according to the Defense Secretariat.

The operation took place in Tamazula, a remote mountain village on the Durango-Sinaloa border where “El Guano” holds sway. Troops seized weapons, ammunition and explosives.

The raid relied on U.S. intelligence, the military confirmed. It follows a December helicopter assault by Mexican marines in the same region aimed at capturing Guzman, local journalists reported. The U.S. State Department offers $5 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

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“El Chapo” is serving life in the U.S., where two of his sons also face trial. His brother’s faction is locked in a bloody war for control of the Sinaloa cartel against loyalists of co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who is also awaiting trial in the U.S.

The raid lands amid tension between Mexico City and Washington over two U.S. agents killed in a car crash after an anti-drug lab operation that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration says it didn’t approve.

Multiple sources told CBS News the Americans were CIA employees. The CIA declined comment. Sheinbaum has rejected U.S. military aid offered by President Donald Trump, saying Washington’s role should be limited to intelligence sharing and banning unauthorized foreign agents on Mexican soil.

Sheinbaum said Wednesday she’s weighing sanctions against Chihuahua state for allowing the CIA agents to take part. State prosecutor Cesar Jauregui said the agents were “instructor officers” doing training as part of binational anti-drug work. He called the lab “one of the largest” meth production sites found in Mexico.

U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson offered condolences online but gave few details.

Mexico has ramped up lab busts in recent months after Trump threatened military action against cartels. In February, the Navy “neutralized” over 5,000 pounds of meth at a hidden lab in Durango. [Culled/rewritten story from CBS]