The arrest of a criminal leader in northwestern Sonora led to a shootout recently.
During a Saturday operation in Altar, four suspected criminals — including a leader identifiedby Gov. Alfonso Durazo only as Francisco T, or Duranguillo — were arrested by Mexico’s military. Durazo called it a major blow to those most responsible for violence in the region.
The soldiers were then surrounded by dozens of criminal operatives and offered 10 million pesos — or nearly $500,000 — to release the leader, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recounted on Monday.
Instead, reinforcements arrived, and a shootout ensued, in which a soldier was killed, according to the president.