By David Bloodsaw
U.S. and Mexican officials have finally captured the elusive leader of the largest Mexican drug cartel – Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman reports the L.A. Times. Guzman is the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, the oldest and richest of all the cartels. He was captured in a hotel at a seaside resort in Mazatlan.
El Chapo was taken into custody without incident and will be transported to Mexico City. As an extra security measure, the airport will be shut down while he is being transported. Guzman has not been seen in public for years and officials will have to confirm his identity with DNA testing.
Guzman was most likely fingered by his own cartel members when they were captured not long before him. The Mexican marines have been raiding a number of Guzman’s properties.
Guzman will probably become drug lord folklore if he isn’t already. He was once captured and in prison years ago, but escaped in a laundry basket. El Chapo has been eluding the authorities since 2001, when he made the dramatic prison break.
Since then he fathered twins with his wife, former beauty queen Emma Coronel, who resides in Los Angeles. Over the years, authorities tried to locate Guzman by tracking his wife, which was unsuccessful.
El Chapo means short and he is 5 feet 6”, hence the nickname.
There was a $5 million reward for his capture and recently Mexico allowed vigilantes to search for wanted drug cartel members.
Even though a top official has been capture, business will probably continue as usual. It’s speculated that Guzman’s partner already had control over the operation. No matter who is in charge, drugs continue to flow into the United States.
This is a big victory for Mexico, whose President Enrique Pena Nieto has been accused of ignoring the less b****y cartel as opposed to the notoriously violent Zetas.
Guzman’s operation used all transportation methods to ship tons of cocaine and marijuana to the United States. He is the brain-child behind the underground tunnels from Mexico to America; “employing” architects and engineers to design the tunnels.
The cartel also bribed, obtained guns and there was a highly publicized kidnapping case involving American tourists who were tortured. If El Chapo is convicted he will serve life in prison and will be up for the death penalty.
Source: latimes
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