The head of Mexico's sinoloa drug cartel has been captured by a combined team of Mexican and American forces in his home city of sinoloa.
A 2012 declassified report by the Institute of Defense Analysis (IDA), described the Sinaloa cartel as a powerful criminal group capable of laundering billions of dollars through a vast network of associations and front companies protected by corrupt government officials, security forces and private industry.
In a press conference in Mexico City Saturday afternoon, parts of which were shown on CNN in the U.S., El Chapo was shown neatly shaved, wearing black denim pants and a light shirt, while being escorted by Mexican Marines. This is the first time he was seen in public in over a decade.
Mexico’s Attorney General, Jesús Murillo Karam, said Guzmán was captured without a single shot fired in a hotel in the port of Mazatlán, a favorite tourist destination for Americans. Without elaborating, Murillo confirmed that U.S. law-enforcement agencies assisted in the operation.
The Mexican Attorney General reported that the operation lasted around a month and was triggered by intelligence that revealed that the kingpin was living in seven different houses which were connected by secret tunnels and sewers. In recent days, the Mexican press published pictures of Mexican Marines lifting sewer covers to look for El Chapo. So far, authorities have seized 97 rifles, two grenade launchers, one rocket launcher, 43 vehicles (19 of them armored), as well as 16 houses and four ranches.
Guzman is known to have escaped twice from prison in Mexico. He is touted as the Escobar of our time. We may yet see another epic escape that of the magnitude of prison break. He has done it before, he may well do it again.
Does this spell good news for drug trafficking into the US? I sincerely don't think so as his network of drug trafficking and money laundering encompasses continents. The last is yet to be heard of this evil genius.
During the 2012 inter-denominational service which held at the National Ecumenical Centre to mark the 2012 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, President Goodluck Jonathan made the following statement as regards members of the deadly Boko Haram terrorist sect invading his government:
