Mexico's
most wanted drug king pin is under arrest
Publicado
el 23/02/2014, Agencia Reuters
Mexico's
most wanted man, drugs kingpin Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, was captured
early on Saturday (February 22) with help from U.S. agencies in a major victory
for the government in a long, brutal drugs war.
Guzman,
known as "El Chapo" (Shorty) in Spanish, has long run Mexico's
infamous Sinaloa Cartel and over the past decade emerged as one of the world's
most powerful organised crime bosses.
He was caught in his native northwestern state of Sinaloa in an early morning operation without a shot being fired, Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam reported to media, adding that Guzman's identity had been 100 percent confirmed.
It
is a political triumph for President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in
late 2012. Pena Nieto confirmed the arrest via Twitter earlier on Saturday
(February 22) and congratulated his security forces. The U.S. government also
applauded the arrest.
On
the streets, locals hailed the high-profile arrest as a boon for Pena Nieto's
government.
"I
think that it's something very good. I think it's a excellent achievement from
this government who are giving us results. I think not just for Mexico but for
many countries it's an important arrest," said Mexico City resident,
Francisco Alcocer.
Authorities
reported that security forces had nearly caught Guzman days earlier in the
Sinaloa capital of Culiacan, but he gave them the slip.
Marines
had reportedly raided the Culiacan house of Guzman's ex-wife where they seized
drugs, communications equipment and arms. It is believed the fugitive had just
escaped via a tunnel from one of the rooms.
Guzman's
cartel has smuggled billions of dollars worth of cocaine, marijuana and
methamphetamines into the United States, and fought vicious turf wars with
other Mexican gangs.
Tens
of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting, especially in western
and northern regions that have long been key smuggling routes.
Drugs
expert Fred Alvarez told Reuters compared Guzman's dramatic arrest in Mazatlan
to the hunt and capture of Osama Bin Laden.
"It's
a milestone, it's a hit, the hardest hit that President Enrique Pena Nieto has
had. It's not Michoacan, it's not the reforms which have taken place. It's the
capture of the world's number one criminal. Surely a film, like the United
States did for the capture of Osama Bin Laden, will be made of the capture of
Joaquin Guzman, alias "El Chapo," he said.
Wearing
a cream shirt and dark jeans and with a black moustache, his head pushed down
by a soldier in a face mask, he was frog-marched in front of reporters on live
TV, bound for prison.
It
was the first public glimpse of the elusive kingpin since he escaped from
prison in 2001.
Guzman
has been caught before, and famously gave his jailers the slip. He escaped a
Mexican prison, reportedly in a laundry cart, in 2001 to become the country's
most high-profile trafficker. He is believed to command groups of hitmen from
the U.S. border into Central America.
Authorities
have not confirmed whether Guzman would face trial in Mexico or be extradited
to the United States.
The
1.7-metre (5-foot 6-inch) Guzman's exploits have made him a legend in many
impoverished communities of northern Mexico, where he has been immortalised in
dozens of ballads and low budget movies.
The
United States had placed a $5 million bounty on Guzman's head and authorities
in Chicago last year dubbed him the city's first Public Enemy No.1 since
gangster Al Capone.
Nearly
80,000 people have died in drug-related killings in Mexico since former
President Felipe Calderon sent in the army in early 2007 to quell the powerful
drug bosses, a policy that Pena Nieto has criticized but found tough to break
with.
There
has been some concern in the United States that Pena Nieto's government might
not be as aggressive in pursuing cartel leaders, but Guzman's capture will ease
those fears.
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