Gunmen killed the nephew of a Sinaloa cartel leader in the latest attack against relatives of people linked to the drug organization.
Edgar Juvanny Parra Zambada, 42, was one of two people killed during a shootout in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, according to the local attorney general’s office.
In addition to the two men who were killed, a female driver was injured during the attack.
Parra is the nephew of Ismael Zambada, the man reportedly in charge of the Sinaloa cartel’s operations since notorious drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was recaptured after months on the run. Mexican officials describe the victim’s uncle as “the new El Chapo.”
The elder Zambada faces a series of charges in the United States, including trafficking methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana, the Justice Department announced last year.
It describes him as the “principal administrator, organizer or leader of the enterprise.”
About two weeks ago, Guzman’s son was abducted from a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta and released a few days later.
Guzman, the famed Sinaloa cartel leader commonly known as El Chapo, is in prison in Mexico and facing extradition to the United States.
Once he is transferred, Guzman could be sent to New York to stand trial on federal drug charges, according to US officials.
