Mexican police were forced to release a high-ranking member of the Pueblos Unidos criminal gang after gang members kidnapped three officials from the state attorney-general's office and used them as bargaining chips. The standoff unfolded in the central state of Morelos on Monday, during a targeted raid against local extortion rackets.
Hostage crisis forces release
The gang retaliated swiftly, abducting three employees working for the state attorney-general's office. Faced with the ultimatum, officials released the suspect to save the workers' lives. The three hostages were freed on Monday evening, local time.
One person was taken to hospital after suffering a gunshot wound and remains in a stable condition. The attorney-general's office defended the decision, stating that official guidelines require the lives of kidnap victims to always come first.
Police vow to hunt down culprits
Law enforcement insisted the abduction would not go unpunished and vowed to track down those responsible. The incident is the latest example of cartels using violence to force police to back down.
In 2019, hundreds of heavily armed Sinaloa cartel gunmen brought the northern city of Culiacán to a standstill after police arrested Ovidio Guzmán, son of drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Gunmen set up flaming roadblocks and clashed with military forces, turning the city into a warzone.
Previous standoffs and ongoing violence
Former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered Guzmán's release, saying he gave the command "so as not to put the population at risk" and that "the capture of a criminal is not worth more than people's lives." Guzmán was recaptured in 2023 and sent to the US to face justice.
The latest hostage crisis comes amid heightened violence across Mexico, following the killing of top target Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera, which triggered cartel revenge attacks across 20 states and led President Claudia Sheinbaum to deploy thousands of troops.
