Last Friday’s disturbances in Guadalajara fueled rumors that Mexico’s most powerful drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, had finally been caught. While such speculation proved unfounded, authorities did come within a whisker of capturing the billionaire fugitive in Los Cabos recently.
Guzman is the most wanted criminal in both Mexico and the United States, but how important would his arrest be? And would it have positive or negative consequences in Mexico?
Even U.S. officials are in disagreement over the matter. During a recent visit to Mexico, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the United States must pursue Guzman as long as necessary, likening him to that other fugitive finally caught last year: Osama Bin Laden.
But this week General Charles Jacoby, head of the U.S. Northern Command, said the capture of 22 of the 37 most wanted drug lords in Mexico “has not had any positive effects,” as “violence continues to increase.” This is because drug cartels have a Hydra-like quality, in that if you cut off one of their heads, several more grow back in its place.
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