Analysis-Capture of El Chapo's son gilds Mexican president's patchy record on crime

FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a news conference where he condemned an apparent assassination attempt on a prominent news anchor and critic of the president, at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, December 16, 2022. REUTERS/Mexico's Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The capture of a drug cartel boss who embarrassed Mexico's government has given President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador a rare crime-fighting victory as he prepares to host a major North American summit and gears up to secure his succession.

The arrest of Ovidio Guzman, son of captured kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was a timely reversal of fortune for Lopez Obrador. The president had ordered Ovidio to be freed to avoid mass bloodshed after he was captured previously in the state of Sinaloa in 2019, sparking a violent stand-off with cartel gunmen.