Watch Mexican special forces storm beach in front of stunned tourists as army deployed to tackle Sinaloa cartel rampage

A SQUAD of heavily armed Mexican Special Forces stormed a beach in front of stunned tourists as cartel violence grips the state of Sinaloa. Footage shared on TikTok on January 6, shows commandos emerging from the water with guns aimed at terrified beachgoers in the resort town of Mazatlán. Soldiers emerged from the sea in Mazatlán Startled tourists watch on as the armed soldiers reach the shore The TikTok video has been stitched with another that shows the soldiers later seen on shore diving from a navy vessel into the water with guns in hand. The exercise is believed to have taken place on January 5 but it remains unclear whether it was a planned drill. In the past few days, the city is swirling in the chaos following the arrest of a major drug cartel leader on Thursday. Police and military vehicles now patrol the beaches, tourists have been warned to stay in their hotels, and the airport has closed for security reasons. The army has been deployed to tackle the cartel rampage taking hold of cities in Sinaloa since the drug kingpin’s arrest. A police operation in the early hours of Thursday captured Ovidio “The Mouse” Guzmán, alleged leader of the vicious Sinaloa drug cartel and former son of jailed cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. It was hailed by the president as a major blow to the criminal cartel – finally saving the government from the embarrassment that has plagued them since their failed attempt to capture Guzmán in 2019. Known as the Battle of Culiacán, Mexican forces managed to capture the gangster leader but were forced to free him after heavy fighting and hostage-taking by his cartel. This battle, however, was fought just in time to secure Mexican President López Obrador’s bragging rights as he gets ready to host a summit meeting with President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau next week. However, Thursday’s win still came at a huge cost. At least 29 men were killed and 35 soldiers were wounded in the offensive which also led to a ferocious and widespread retaliation from the cartel. In Mazatlán where the video was filmed, it has been reported that tourists are trapped with no flights entering or exiting the state due to airports being targeted and fighting in the streets. Canadians in Mazatlán have been warned by their government to be vigilant – to “stay in place” and avoid gatherings and road blockades. The unrest was reported to have simmered since Friday as a fragile sense of calm has returned to the resort town. The video shows commandos jumping into the water ReutersFirefighters rush to put out a burning on the streets of Mazatlán[/caption]