Christian leaders react to the violence of the Sinaloa drug cartel

The arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, has unleashed a crude confrontation between the Mexican National Guard and the criminal organization in the streets of Culiacán, the capital of the region.

Guzmán was detained by an arrest warrant issued by a judge, as part of the process to extradite him to the United States, but released shortly thereafter, a decision backed by the security cabinet of the President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“The capture of a criminal cannot be worth more than the lives of people”, said the Mexican President. The shooting that took place after the capture of Guzman's son has left 8 dead and 16 wounded.

“We do not want war”, said López Obrador, referring to the management of the conflict between the cartels made by his predecessors, Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto.

EVANGELICALS AMONG THE VICTIMS

The National Presbyterian Church of Mexico issued a statement, calling for prayer after the violent indicents in Culiacán.

“Some brothers from our churches and other denominations have been affected, even losing their lives, because they were in the wrong place and time. Many families have lived through this tragedy”, they said.

Pastor Baltazar Zamora, an official of the National Council of the Assemblies of God in Mexico who lives in Culiacán, lamented the events and explained that “in the markets, malls and convention centers, the order has been to stay on site” .

“The authorities provided food and shelter for them, and no incidents have been reported among the families of the pastors and of the members of the churches”, he added.

“INTERCEDE FOR CULIACAN”

There are more than 110 evangelical churches represented by the Alliance of Pastors of Culiacán, according to its President, Juan Carlos Pérez Navidad.

“We are not indifferent to the situation, and we will keep motivating our people to intercede for Culiacán and to participate in the calls of the authorities to pacify this city”, he said.

GILBERTO ROCHA: “CARTELS HAVE MORE POWER THAN THE GOVERNMENT”

Images of what happened in Culiacán have been seen throughout the country. From Mexico City, Pastor Gilberto Rocha of the Christian Center of Calacoaya, told Latin American news website Evangelico Digital that “unfortunately, what has happened in Culiacán has shown that the cartels have more power than the government itself”.

“From a spiritual point of view, while governments seek to legalize crime through abortion, assisted death, euthanasia and all forms of death discussed in the Parliament, all we are doing is giving more authority to the crime”, he pointed out.

Despite his release, Ovidio Guzman continues to be among the names of the list of drug traffickers wanted by the United States Department of the Treasury.