Arrest of Sinaloa Cartel Leader 'El Cano' in Mexico Restaurant Sparked Brutal Shootout That Left 2 People Dead
Experts from the Sinaloa State Prosecutor's office work at the crime scene where a man was shot dead in Culiacan, Sinaloa State, Mexico, on November 22, 2019. - AFP has mobilized several of its photographers in Mexico around a project entitled Twenty-four hours in Mexico in the shadow of violence to capture, from Thursday, November 21 at midnight to Friday, November 22, scenes of ordinary violence. Since December 2006, after the beginning of the federal anti-cartel offensive, there have been more than 250,000 murders reported in Mexico. RASHIDE FRIAS/AFP via Getty Images

Sinaloa Cartel leader Alan Ervey Juarez Castillo, alias "El Cano," was arrested in a restaurant in Mexico that sparked a firefight that left two dead.

Breitbart News reported that state authorities arrested the alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel in Nuevo León state while eating with his family at a restaurant in Monterrey city on Tuesday afternoon.

With an outstanding arrest warrant in hand, Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones or State Investigative Agency members reportedly swarmed the Pollo Loco restaurant in Ruiz Cortines Avenue in Guadalupe, located at the eastern side of the city.

The warrant was granted based on El Cano's alleged involvement in charges of kidnapping and aggravated homicide, The Sun reported.

The Center for Comprehensive Coordination, Control, Command, Communications and Computing of the State of Nuevo León has confirmed the arrest of the 35-year-old Sinaloa Cartel leader, who is also known as "Comandante Cano" and "Don Cano."

The Aftermath of the Arrest of Sinaloa Cartel Leader 'El Cano'

After his arrest, the Sinaloa Cartel leader provided authorities with information about their safe house in Apodaca town. Dozens of law enforcement officers raided the safe house on Palmillas Street in the Palmas neighborhood past 8 p.m.

When authorities arrived, cartel members under El Cano's command started escaping the house by jumping onto neighboring rooftops. Shootout reportedly broke out as the suspects fled, resulting in the death of two alleged cartel members and one injured officer.

A video that circulated online recounted the moment of the shootout. The footage showed a children's party nearby in which a woman, dressed as Spider-Man, helped bring the kids to safety inside a house after hearing gunshots and an officer on a loudspeaker warning residents to take shelter and get the guests to safety.

Additional law enforcement operations were also reportedly conducted in Fuentes de Anáhuac at San Nicolás de los Garza, and Paraje Santa Rosa in Apodaca, which are all part of the Monterrey Metropolitan Area.

Seven more people have been arrested, with an unspecified amount of drugs and firearms found in their possession.

According to Breitbart, El Cano started as a member of the Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo - CDG) or Los Zetas before 2010.

In 2017, he was arrested and imprisoned in Monterrey's now defunct Topo Chico prison for his drug trafficking ties, but he managed to escape at some point.

Last December 17, El Cano entered the national spotlight after bodies of three men were found in General Zuazua city, north of Monterrey. It had a threatening message against "chapulines" (grasshopper) signed by "Comandante Cano."

"Chapulines" is a slang term for anyone that jumps from group to group. The message also cited "Puro Sinaloa" (Pure Sinaloa), indicating that El Cano was affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel by this time.

The Sinaloa Cartel

The Sinaloa Cartel is considered to be one of the most powerful drug-trafficking syndicates in the world. The Mexican drug cartel has been known to carry out assassinations, murders, and torture to protect its turf.

The group was founded in the late 1980s and headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Under El Chapo's leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel earned its reputation through violence and outfought several rival groups.

El Chapo was arrested and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison in 1993. He escaped from prison in 2001 and was apprehended again in 2014 in Sinaloa, Mexico.

The Sinaloa cartel boss again escaped from prison through a tunnel the following year. In January 2016, Mexican officials announced that El Chapo has been captured again. He was extradited to the U.S. the next year.

El Chapo was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in the ADX Florence "supermax" prison after being sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Es Detenido Alán Juárez, Alias "El Cano", Presunto Operador Del Cártel De Sinaloa en Nuevo León - From MILENIO