Karol Suárez and Beth Warren | Louisville Courier Journal
MEXICO CITY – The arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, the boy of previous Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, is an essential action for the Mexican federalgovernment, professionals state, however it will mostlikely have little impact on the circulation of unlawful drugs, especially fentanyl, throughout the border.
“You’re not going to see a huge distinction or a decrease in the quantity of fentanyl coming to the United States. But having stated all of that, it is still a really great arrest since there is no doubt that Ovidio was greatly included in the everyday activities of the Sinaloa Cartel,” stated previous El Paso U.S. Marshal Robert Almonte.
The next action is crucial, Almonte stated, including it is merely not enough to arrest Guzmán, understood as “El Ratón,” or other cartel leaders. Mexican authorities requirement to extradite him to the U.S. to show that the Mexican federalgovernment is severe about ending cartel control in Mexico and the world.
The clash surrounding Guzmán’s arrest Jan. 5 in Culiacán resulted in almost 30 deaths of Mexican officers and Sinaloa Cartel members.
Gunmen rampaged in Culiacán after Guzman was taken away, stopping roadways and burning lorries.
The arrest came on the eve of President Joe Biden’s goto to Mexico for the North American leaders’ top, leading some to label Guzmán’s capture a political displayscreen.
Matt Donahue, retired chief of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s foreign operations, called the arrest a “political play or stunt.”
“We understood where he was” for years, stated Donahue, who has worked in Mexico monitoring representatives targeting the Sinaloa Cartel and other drug smuggling powerhouses. “But they wouldn’t go get him till it was politically profitable.”
The arrest of Rafael Caro Quintero in July 2022 by Mexican authorities came days after Biden fulfilled in Washington with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. A previous cartel leader, Quintero was desired in the killing of a DEA representative in 1985.
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Guzmán and his brotherorsisters, understood as “Los Chapitos,” led the charge within Sinaloa years ago to relocation towards artificial drugs – methamphetamine and fentanyl, and then fentanyl tablets – driving up the death toll in the U.S., Donahue stated.
National Drug Threat Assessment reports by the DEA point to Sinaloa and its leading competing, the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or CJNG, as the 2 super-cartels blamed for the bulk of prohibited drugs discovered throughout the U.S.
Guzmán’s arrest would have an effect on the circulation of drugs into the U.S. just if he is extradited and concurs to comply with federal detectives, Donahue stated.
“The quantity of info he might offer might truly cause a lot of damage to Sinaloa Cartel and to corruption in that location,” Donahue stated.
“He might support the quantity of fentanyl they’re making, where they’re making it, how they’re making it, how they’re getting the precursor chemicals, where their targets are in the U.S., their networks.”
But on Monday, a federal judge in Mexico halted Guzmán’s extradition and purchased him to stay in detention for 60 days.
Guzmán’s legalrepresentative, Alberto Díaz Mendieta, informed Mexican radio news station Radio Formula that the U.S. has those 60 days to formalize an extradition demand for his customer.
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Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard stated there hasactually been an arrest warrant for Guzmán in the U.S. giventhat 2019, however the extradition would not be instant duetothefactthat “it has to run its course in Mexico .”
“He isn’t going to be extradited,” Donahue anticipated.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice implicated Guzmán and his bro, Joaquin, of a conspiracy to disperse drug, methamphetamine and cannabis for importation into the United States.
Even though Ovidio Guzmán is not the primary leader of “Los Chapitos,” his face endedupbeing the image of this group after a wave of violence surrounding his veryfirst arrest in 2019.
At that time, he was likewise recorded in Culiacán by Mexico’s military, however the end outcome was various.
Soldiers were surrounded by cartel forces who began assaulting civilians, burning automobiles and services. That led López Obrador to release Guzmán so the bloodshed would stop.
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