Roundu: Manhunt for drug lord in Mexico seriously affects residents

Mexican marines conducting an extensive manhunt for fugitive drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman are "terrorizing" local residents, media reported on Wednesday.

About 500 residents from two towns in north Mexico's Golden Triangle, the border region where a special marine task force is leading the manhunt,gathered early Wednesday to protest "the way the operation has been carried out."

Daily La Jornada published a photo on its website of the demonstration in Culiacan, capital of Sinaloa state, showing people standing outside the state government building, holding a large banner that read, "We are afraid to go out into the streets, help us Mr. President."

Other banners and placards called for an end to "the abuse of power" or simply said "that's enough."

The residents came from the towns of Cosala, Sinaloa and Tamazula, Durango, among others, where marines have been combing the countryside to recapture Guzman, who escaped from a maximum security prison on July 11.

"In these regions ... according to the complaints, marines shot at the homes of the residents," the daily said, adding about 1,000 townspeople have temporarily abandoned their homes for the operation.

The leader of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel made international headlines when he escaped from his cell at the Altiplano prison in Mexico State through a 1.5-km tunnel that reportedly took six months to dig. It marked the second time he has broken out of a high-security facility.

Mexico's government Saturday confirmed it had launched a manhunt, announcing marines nearly captured Guzman close to Cosala, but that he managed to escape by jumping off a cliff.

Though the fall broke his leg, his bodyguards swooped in to rescue him, according to the authorities.

The Sinaloa Cartel leader has closely evaded capture before, most famously in February 2012. A day after then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in the Baja beach resort of Los Cabos for a gathering of foreign ministers, he reportedly sneaked out the back door of a beachfront mansion there before police raided the house.

Many feel Guzman's capture is imminent.

"Some say it's just a matter of days or weeks," MVS radio news anchor Alejandro Cacho said Wednesday on his morning show, during a segment dedicated to the elusive drug trafficker.

Guzman's wealth has helped him escape prison twice and avoid capture for countless times, making the manhunt much more significant, security expert Samuel Gonzalez Ruiz said.

"The government is debunking the myth that drug traffickers can control everyone. All you need is to have a small group of people who can do their job well" to pierce through the protection that drug lords have built around them with illicit gains, said Gonzalez. Endi