Shocking moment cartel fighters are sent crawling and running through a parking lot in Mexico during a shootout that left a soldier dead following the arrest of a gang leader

• A Mexican solider was killed Saturday in Altar, Sonora, during an army shootout with alleged members of a gang linked to the Sinaloa Cartel
• The gun battle was sparked by the arrest of Francisco ‘El Duranguillo’ Torres
• The 31-year-old is the leader of the Gente Nueva, the armed wing of a cartel faction run by Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s sons 
• The gang reportedly offered soldiers on site $500,000 in exchange for Torres’ release
• The proposition was rejected, which led to the shooting; two other gang members were also taken under custody 

This is the shocking moment the Mexican army responded with force and sent gang members running during a broad daylight gun battle.

The shooting took place Saturday in Alta, about 60 miles south of Sasabe, Arizona, after the military arrested Francisco ‘El Duranguillo’ Torres, 31.

The arrest of Torres spread quickly and the soldiers were surrounded by 10 or 15 pickup trucks and 60 gunmen, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said during his press briefing Monday. 

Francisco ‘El Duranguillo’ Torres is pinned to the ground during his arrest in Altar, Mexico, on Saturday. The apprehension of the 31-year-old, who is the leader of the Gente Nueva, the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel, led to a shootout between the army and gang members that left a soldier dead

An alleged member of the Gente Nueva, an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel faction operated by the sons of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, crawls through a parking lot while two others run as military fired at them during a shootout following the arrest of their leader Saturday

The assailants outnumbered the soldiers 10 to one, López Obrador said. 

The president added that the assailants offered the soldiers $500,000 to release Torres, the leader of the Gente Nueva, an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel faction controlled by Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s sons, Los Chapitos. 

However, the soldiers refused and a gunfight broke out, leaving one soldier was killed.

A video recorded by an Altar resident showed two soldiers placing Torres under arrest.

Footage also showed the assailants retreating as some crawled through the street while the rest ran as the military returned fire.

Mexican soldiers detain Francisco ‘El Duranguillo’ Torres, the leader of a gang linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, during an operation Saturday

Mexican soldiers recovered at least seven assault rifles belonging to members of the Gente Nueva following Saturday’s shootout with the gang that is linked to the Sinaloa Cartel 

Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo wrote in his social media accounts that four suspects had been detained for weapons possession.

The three other Gente Nueva members who were arrested have been identified as Ausencio Aboytes, Juan Sánchez and Jesús Espinosa.

All four men are being investigated for alleged crimes committed against public servants, organized crime, murder, attempted murder and possession of military weapons.

The city of Alta has long been known as a staging ground for immigrant smuggling and is reportedly controlled by the Gente Nueva.

The gang was created in 1995 and was critical in the Sinaloa Cartel’s battle against the Juárez Cartel and its armed wing, La Línea, for control of drug smuggling routes in the border town of Ciudad Juárez.

More than 10,000 people reportedly were killed while the cartel warred between 2008 and 2012. 

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