A son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was kidnapped from a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Jalisco Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer said at a news conference Tuesday.
Jesus Alfredo Guzman, 29, was one of six men abducted early Monday from La Leche, an upscale restaurant on the resort town’s main drag, Almaguer said.
“At this moment, we have identified four of the kidnapped,” Almaguer said, “one of them being Jesus Alfredo Guzman.”
Mexican authorities are searching for the missing men as well as those responsible, Almaguer said.
Jesus Alfredo is the youngest of El Chapo’s children from his first marriage, along with Ivan Archivaldo Guzman.
Earlier Tuesday, Guzman family attorney Pablo Badillo said it was “very likely” that Ivan Archivaldo was abducted from the restaurant. Badillo told CNN the Guzman family contacted him Tuesday afternoon and told him that “the possibility of Ivan Archivaldo having been abducted is very high.”
Almaguer had also said that Ivan Archivaldo was among those kidnapped, though he eventually backpedaled on the claim.
Ivan Archivaldo’s name did not come up at Tuesday night’s news conference, and it was not immediately clear whether he was among those kidnapped.
The Mexican army, federal police, state police and the country’s prosecution office are all working to find the missing individuals.
“It is important to note that at this moment, we have not received any complaints or calls from any part of the missing and at the same time, we have also not received any calls from anyone that indicates that there is anyone asking the organization regarding anyone,” Almaguer said.
The incident unfolded inside the trendy white-walled eatery, whose name translates to Milk, on Francisco Medina Ascencio Avenue, a popular tourist destination.
Seven armed men stormed into the restaurant, separating the men in Guzman’s group from the nine women accompanying them, Almaguer said.
“I want to be precise that Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar is the son of Joaquin Guzman. This is how we have given the credit and name with the information found in a vehicle as well as through our investigation. Also, through the eyewitness reports.’
The elder Guzman is behind bars — held in a Juarez, Mexico, prison as his attorneys fight efforts to extradite him to the United States.
Members of a rival cartel gunned down Edgar Beltran Guzman, one of El Chapo’s sons, in a Mexican shopping mall parking lot in 2008.