El Chapo's Arrest and the 'Bloodbath it May Unleash' (El
Espectador, Colombia)
"El Chapo's effective control over his organization was
very much in doubt - as is any reduction in the level of violence due to his
arrest. Moreover, his fall, while not generating disorder within his cartel, is
sure to weaken his organization in comparison to Zetas, its principal
competition. Any decline in the strength of Sinaloa is a gain for Zetas, the most
violent and bloody of Mexico's cartels. So it is that unless the authorities
have plans to attack Zetas with the same ferocity they have shown in the
struggle against the Sinaloans, the success of these arrests may be diminished
by the bloodbath they unleash."
Joaquín
Guzmán Loera, alias 'El Chapo,' now in the hands of Mexican authorities for the third time. Will his arrest slow the bloodletting in Mexico - or will it accelerate it?
The
capture the top Sinaloa Cartel boss, Joaquín
Guzmán Loera, has been the cause of world-wide celebration - and not
without reason. The influence of this cartel on the trade of narcotics, weapons
- and people in Europe - has made it, since 2013, an overriding goal of the Europol - the European
Police Office.
In
turn, Europol is pursuing the cartel for it coordination of cocaine trafficking
between Europe and the United States, as well as the trafficking of synthetic
drugs between these markets and Asia. The cartel also coordinates arms trafficking
between Eastern Europe and Latin America. Its operators in Egypt and other
North African nations have been caught. Its influence on the cocaine trade in
Australia gave it the moniker of “the empire that knows no night,” while its
control over drug trafficking in several U.S. cities resulted in the operation,
coordinated with Mexican authorities, that culminated with the capture and arrest
of the cartel's boss at a Mazatlán hotel on Feb. 23.
El
Chapo's fall is symbolic in a variety of ways. First, this is the capture of
the most visible sign of a great empire of illegality, and as such, the most
wanted man in the world since the death of Osama bin Laden. As an icon, El
Chapo replaced not only drug traffickers like Pablo Escobar, but underground
myths like Al Capone. His arrest
represents a vote of confidence in the global order, and first of all, the
Mexican government.
Hall of shameful fame: from left to right, El Chapo - Joaquín
Guzmán
Loera, upon capture last week; a photo of Osama bin laden's
corpse
released by Iran's Mehr News Agency, now said to be fake; the mug
mug shot of Al Capone.
During
the presidency of Vicente Fox, Guzmán not only escaped from a maximum security
prison in Jalisco, but Federal Police had the chance to recapture him at least
three times, but did not because of internal obstacles within Fox' National
Action Party [PAN]. During the Calderón Administration
his capture was also hampered by leaks to the press from the official
bureaucracy. Considering this, the government of Peña Nieto has a chance to tout
not only a great achievement in the fight against illegality, but strength
within his own party - or at least a sliver of unity.
The
capture of El Chapo symbolic, too, for not being the only one. A few days ago,
the authorities arrested Jesús Peña, better known as "El 20," who was
the Sinaloa Cartel's top hit man. In addition, joint operations between Mexican
forces and the DEA suggest that the hunt is on for some of the cartel's other bosses:
Ismael El
Mayo Zambada and José
Esparragoza, better known as "El Azul." It's worth noting that El
Chapo was not turned in by his colleagues, as was the case with Amado Carrillo,
alias "El Señor de los Cielos [the Lord of Heaven]" - former boss of
the Juárez Cartel.
El Chapo was captured through an intelligence operation, as was the case last
year with Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, known as Z 40 - former leader of the Zetas Cartel.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
After
the rise of the “autodefensas”
movement [a vigilante movement], the federal government launched in recent
months a harsh crackdown against the Caballeros Templarios [Knights Templar
Cartel] in Michoacán. All of these actions together represent, if not a
victory over the cartels, at least some serious blows to their organizations.
El
Chapo's capture is also symbolic for being far from signifying the dissolution
of the Sinaloa Cartel. Forced for years to change his location every 15 days,
El Chapo's effective control over his organization was very much in doubt - as
is any reduction in the level of violence due to his arrest. Moreover, his
fall, while not generating disorder within his cartel, is sure to weaken his
organization in comparison to Zetas, its principal competition. Any decline in
the strength of Sinaloa is a gain for Zetas, the most violent and bloody of
Mexico's cartels. So it is that unless the authorities have plans to attack Zetas
with the same ferocity they have shown in the struggle against the Sinaloans,
the success of these arrests may be diminished by the bloodbath they unleash.
