A son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman may have been one of a group of people kidnapped from a restaurant in the Mexican beach resort city of Puerto Vallarta, according to the Guzman family.
While the details surrounding the kidnapping are still under investigation, Guzman family attorney Pablo Badillo says “it’s very likely” that the drug cartel leader’s eldest son, Ivan Archivaldo, was abducted.
Badillo told CNN he was contacted by the Guzman family Tuesday afternoon and they had told him that “the possibility of Ivan Archivaldo having been abducted is very high.”
But Eduardo Almaguer, Jalisco state attorney general, isn’t so sure. Almaguer backpedaled on his earlier remarks that Archivaldo was among those abducted.
“I want to be very direct. There is no report made by anybody regarding the abduction of any of these victims,” Almaguer said in an interview with Mexico City’s Radio Formula Tuesday morning.
The incident took place at the trendy “La Leche” restaurant.
Almaguer said in the radio interview that six people were abducted by seven armed men.
Initial local media reports had said as many as 16 people were kidnapped, while local authorities said between 10 and 12 people were abducted from the restaurant.
Ivan Archivaldo is in his 30s and is one of El Chapo’s two sons.
The Guzman family confirmed that they had not been able to get in touch with Archivaldo, who was traveling in Puerto Vallarta.
A message was posted Twitter Tuesday afternoon from an account believed to pertain to Ivan Archibaldo Guzman. The tweet said “NOTHING IS HAPPENING,” but CNN could not verify whether that account actually belongs to El Chapo’s eldest son.
