Disturbing stuff out of Mexico this week:

The operation to detain Ovidio Guzman, the son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, unleashed a running firefight in the northern city of Culiacan that killed 10 military personnel and 19 suspected members of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

In a blow-by-blow description Friday, Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval described a battle that resembled a war: cartel gunmen opened fire on troops with .50 caliber machine guns, and the army responded by calling in Blackhawk helicopter gunships to attack a convoy of 25 cartel vehicles, including truck-mounted cartel gun platforms.

The cartel is among the most well-financed, well-armed and relentlessly determined criminal organizations in the world and they're apt to respond harshly when challenged:

The cartel then opened fire on the military aircraft, forcing two of them down with "a significant number of impacts" in each of the two aircraft, Sandoval said. The gang then sent hordes of gunmen to attack fixed-wing aircraft, both military and civilian, at the city's international airport. ...

Culiacan residents posted video on social media showing convoys of gunmen in pickup trucks and SUVs rolling down boulevards in the city on Thursday. At least one convoy included a flatbed truck with a mounted gun in the back.

Footage from the region is intense and terrifying:

[Warning: Violence]

It looks like local authorities are prepared for a long conflict:

The Culiacan municipal government warned: "Don't leave home! The safety of Culiacan's citizens is the most important." Schools, local government and many private businesses closed.

😔