Members of the dreaded Sinaloa Cartel engaged in a shootout with security forces Thursday following an operation that led to the capture of the son of convicted drug lord El Chapo Guzman.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez, who is 28 years old, was detained in the northern city of Culiacan.
Security Minister Alfonso Durazo told members of the press that the 28-year-old was released in order to protect lives.
Media reports say that the heavily armed members of the Sinaloa Cartel overpowered the security forces in the shootout.
Cartel members reportedly rode in military-style vehicles fitted with state-of-the-art weapons.
Residents took to their heels fearing for their lives as shootout unfolded.
Images shared by social media users appeared to show the extent of the terror that was unleashed with black smoke curling into the sky.
A lawyer for the Guzman family to the press that Ovidio was safe and unscathed after the incident.
Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador is set to hold a meeting with his security team to discuss the shootout.
The head of state promised during his presidential campaign that he would relentlessly crack down on drug groups operating in Mexico
The security minister confirmed that security operations in Culiacan had been suspended over what he said was a back and forth between government troops and criminal groups.