From Bad to Worse: Mexico After the Fall of El Chapo Guzman

The much-touted triumph of the Mexican authorities, which in January 2016 finally managed to capture and jail the elusive Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, the country’s top drug lord, turned out to be a Pyrrhic victory.

The fragmented cartels scattered all over the country have started a new turf war. And, as is always the case, it is civilians who are suffering the most.

Photo: elheraldodesaltillo.mx

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera

Joaquin Guzman, head of the Sinaloa Cartel, is an odious figure. His “track record” is known far beyond Mexico; he is referred to as the “biggest drug lord of all time,” the “most-wanted man in the world,” the “murderer of more than two thousand people” and the “man who started the bloody war between the Mexican cartels.” But his arrest in January 2016, praised by President Enrique Peña Nieto on his Twitter account, has failed to bring about a cure for the drug-ravaged country. The capture of El Chapo (Shorty) has resulted in a new round of cartel wars and redistribution of spheres of influence.

Misfortune struck the country in different aspects at once.

Photo: www.borderlandbeat.com

Rafael Caro Quintero "El Narco de Narcos"

First, the legendary Drug Lord of All Drug Lords (El Narco de Narcos) Rafael Caro Quintero, who controlled the largest part of the drug trafficking business in the country in the 1980s is back in the big game. Caro Quintero spent 28 years in prison, but maintained ties with his drug business throughout that period. Although the Guadalajara Cartel he once founded has practically disintegrated, Caro Quintero still has many supporters. Released three years ago, he set about regrouping his forces and recruiting new members with a vengeance. His first target was the territories controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel, which El Chapo had failed to keep a close eye on, and which had always been considered a coveted prize (fertile soil and good position for transporting the produce).

Incidentally, Quintero considers these territories to be his own, because there was a time when Sinaloa was part of the huge Guadalajara Cartel. Rumour has it that he has struck an alliance with Guzman Loera’s erstwhile enemies, the Beltran-Leyva Cartel, and together they launched a brazen raid on El Chapo’s native village, where his mother still lives. By the way, if you happen to be in Mexico and see Quintero in the street make sure to call the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which lists him among its top three most wanted fugitives. The reward is $5 million.

Secondly, the new turf war has been joined by arguably one of the most dangerous and brutal criminal groups in Mexico – the Los Zetas Cartel, or simply Los Zetas. It differs from the other cartels because its core consists of trained professional soldiers who deserted the Mexican and Guatemalan armies. In addition to traditional drug trafficking, Los Zetas is known for its practice of kidnapping for ransom, people trafficking, bank robberies, money laundering and even crimes against humanity. Los Zetas also made a bid for El Chapo’s former lands, starting bloody feuds in the Sinaloa and Chihuahua provinces. What is more, the cartel has been without a head for some time, and its constituent groups have started a war against each other. According to the Spanish newspaper El País, the local police no longer understand who is fighting against whom, while civilians and police continue to die.

Infographics by www.lanuevarepublica.org

For Mexico, worn out by the drug wars, the capture and imprisonment of El Chapo came as good news and a glimmer of hope in the endless dark of violence. However, as often happens, there was a reverse side: instead of marking another step towards restoring order in the country, the removal of El Chapo was nothing but cutting off of a head of the ferocious Mexican drugs Hydra.