Mexican official: One of 'El Chapo' Guzman's sons may have been abducted at gun point

Thomson Reuters

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman could be among a group of people kidnapped from a restaurant in the Pacific Mexican tourist resort of Puerto Vallarta, the state attorney general said on Tuesday.

A group of six or seven people suspected to be members of Guzman's feared Sinaloa Cartel were abducted by eight armed men from an upscale eatery in the heart of the resort early on Monday.

Puerto Vallarta, in the state of Jalisco, is one of Mexico's top vacation destinations, attracting all-inclusive tourists and high-end sun seekers to its beaches.

"There is a possibility that Ivan Guzman is among the kidnapped," Jalisco Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer told local radio. However he cautioned that it was hard to tell, as false ID cards were found at the scene.

Jalisco, which lies south along the Pacific coast from Sinaloa, is home to the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which has become one of the country's most powerful drug gangs in recent years.

Guzman was one of the world's most wanted drug kingpins until he was captured in January. Six months earlier, he had broken out of a high-security penitentiary in central Mexico through a mile-long tunnel.

His lawyers are now seeking to block his looming extradition to the United States.

(Reporting by Veronica Gomez; Writing by Christine Murray; Editing by Simon Gardner and Frances Kerry)

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