The operation in Durango—which culminated in the arrest of the right-hand man and security chief of Aureliano Guzmán Loera, known as “El Guano” (brother of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán)—is reportedly linked to the discovery in Chihuahua of the country’s largest clandestine drug laboratory, an operation in which CIA agents participated.
Although these two events appear distinct, journalist Jesús Lemus Barajas explained in an interview with *Infobae México* that the incident involved a massive operation launched with the specific intent of capturing Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, after agents from both the CIA and the DEA successfully obtained a location believed to correspond to “El Chapo’s” son.
According to the journalist, who specializes in drug trafficking issues, the operation was set in motion following the downfall of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes—alias “El Mencho”—when agents obtained the location of a mobile phone they attributed to Iván Archivaldo in Badiraguato, Sinaloa.
After tracking the device for several days, it yielded a second location near Guachochi, prompting the deployment of an operational force to Chihuahua, dispatched from Ciudad Juárez.
Upon arriving at that site, agents from both the U.S. and the Mexican Army reportedly discovered the clandestine drug lab; shortly after they began dismantling it, they were attacked by hitmen loyal to “El Guano.”
