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Friday, May 27, 2011

Druglord 'El Chapo' Moves Operations to Argentina: Reports

Reports that Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman lived in Argentina until March 2011 have sparked new speculation about the fugitive capo’s whereabouts.

Written by Patrick Corcoran
In Sight

Quoting an anonymous source in the Argentine government, Noticias Argentinas said that Guzman began living in the country with his wife and stepdaughter in 2010. The fugitive only moved on early this year after being alerted that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was pursuing an arrest order, according to the report, traveling to Paraguay, Colombia, and then Europe.

“It is believed that he used a new false identity,” the official said. “But this we can say, there are registers of his wife and stepdaughter leaving Argentina in March of this year.”

The allegation, which has not been independently confirmed, conflicts with the image of Guzman holed up in Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains, protected by loyal gunmen and friendly locals. Reports of the Sinaloa kingpin going abroad have emerged periodically, but never to the extent of the latest story, which has him traveling from country to country with his family.

However, because of the pressure at home from the Calderon government’s ongoing campaign against organized crime, many Mexican gangs have shifted portions of their operations abroad. Perhaps the biggest example of this is the Zetas’ growing role in Guatemala, but Guzman’s Sinaloa Cartel has been detected as far away as Malaysia and Australia. And with a number of the most notorious Mexican gangsters arrested or killed by the government in the past 18 months, it is also not inconceivable that Mexican capos would think it a safer option to take refuge outside of the country.

If so, this would mirror the pattern set by Colombian drug traffickers. Because of the improved capacity of the Colombian authorities, many capos, who a generation ago would have operated unmolested in Cali, Bogota, and Medellin, have found it more practical to operate abroad. As a result, instances of Colombians being arrested on drug charges in other regions of South America or in Mexico have become more common.

In one famous Argentine example, Hector Edilson Duque Ceballos, alias "El Monoteto," was shot to death along with a colleague in a Buenos Aires parking lot in 2008. Duque Ceballos had been one of the highest-ranking members of Colombia's Cordillera Cartel.

Mexican drug lords also have a long history in Argentina, dating back to former Juarez capo Amado Carrillo’s plans to move there in the 1990s. According to Proceso, Guzman had been building his presence in the South American nation since at least 2007, using a series of evangelical churches as fronts for his organization.

Other Mexican groups have followed Guzman into Argentina. According to Edgardo Buscaglia, a researcher with the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, members of the Tijuana Cartel are working with Guzman’s people in the country. Authorities have also uncovered evidence of the Zetas operating there, though not in tandem with Guzman.

Guzman’s work in Argentina centers primarily on the production and distribution of synthetic drugs, according to the Proceso report. This is concentrated in three poor northern provinces: Chaco, Formosa, and Misiones. As a result, Guzman’s group has easy access to Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay, including the notoriously lawless tri-border area that Argentina shares with the latter two nations. Guzman has also allegedly invested significant amounts of money in some of the largest cities in Argentina, such as Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Santa Fe.

The appeal of Argentina for drug syndicates is rooted in a number of factors. With its long coastline and busy port system, Argentina is a valuable source of important precursor chemicals for synthetic drugs from Asia. The relative weakness of state institutions in much of its territory means that capos have little trouble in corrupting officials. Guzman, for example, was reportedly tipped off about the DEA order by a collaborator in the Argentine government. Furthermore, with more than 40 million citizens, the country also provides a significant retail market for drugs.

18 comments:

  1. I've thought for a long time that Guzman is probably not in Mexico. Just like how bin Laden was found in Pakistan. If every paper 10 countries is saying Guzman lives in the Sierra Madre, it seems stupid for him to stay there. You go to somewhere no one would expect.

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  2. This common criminals days are very numbered. It will all be over soon and this piece of crap will be just dust in the wind.
    Juaquin Guzman is a traitor and the worst of criminals who betrayed his contury and countrymen with extreme violence and terrorized Mexicos citizens,the old, the women and children. He made some money but will now scarifice it all for the crimes that he committed. Hes a worthless filty flea infested animal whose corspe will pollute the ground where it will be buried. What a sorry shameful human being!!
    He will never ever become an old man- the grim reaper and the U.S will gurantee that!!

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  3. Next DFL or some other Teabag, will claim they have inside info which only they know, and Bin Ladin and Chapo bin alshibh were compadres.

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  4. These capos are nothing but patsies for the internaltional government/business investors/players just like Bin Laden was, except Bin laden had been dead for a long time. Chapo is running because he knows his time is up. The faces always change but the game remains the same.

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  5. Fuck el chapo,I hate that motherfucker.He is the reason other cartels have formed and made mexico a hellhole,he is a disgrace to the human race and his mexican countrymen,he isn't no hero like the narco-corrido faggots that make him out to be,hope those singers get blasted someday.

    Peace.

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  6. I really think InSight does some good work, but I read a report on Tijuana, the other day, that was just riddled with errors and inconsistency. So, I'll be taking their reports with a little skepticim, I think Stratfor and InSight are a growing trend of 'elite information', that is really second hand guesswork and internet research.

    But, I wouldn't be surprised at the report, the guy can run things from almost anywhere. If it was me, I'd be in Italy or Paris in some small town in the country, passing orders thru phones or computer.

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  7. Nice catch on this article BB. It's a good one.

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  8. The narco culture is so strong and appealing to the youth of Mexico.... They all think its soooo cool to be a sicario and narco that once Chapo is finally taken down he be martyred by the public as a Robin Hood... He'll practically be sainted by the masses.... its sad

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  9. el chapo won't "be sainted by anyone with more than a sixteenth of a brain."

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  10. He's either in Columbia or Australia.

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  11. take a stance j you always cover your bases don't fear being wrong

    chapo's wife was 18 years old when he married her and was miss sinaloa, so she had a kid? it states stepchild, its possible but thats the first i have heard of that fact

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  12. My suspicions for a long time have been that the real day to day business operator of the Sinaloa Cartel is El Azul, Juan Jose Esparagosa Moreno. He is the man in the shadows you never hear about. He has been around since the early Guadalahara Cartel. He was a founder of the Juarez Cartel, and is considered the most powerful diplomat of all the cartel leaders. I have always wondered how El Chapo escaped from prison and became "The Man" so quickly of such a powerful organization. Hell, even back in 1980, Pablo Acosta didn't want to be appointed the plaza boss of Ojinaga because he knew the boss didn't live too long. El Azul is for real, very intelligent, very connected politically with federal and state governments, and other cartels. Not to mention he was one of the first ambassadors of mexico's cartel with Colombia. My point is, I have always felt like El Chapo was a created puppet, to be the fall guy. And I suspect it will happen this year, prior to the elections.

    TRC

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  13. Arriva El Chapo,, Sinaloa Sigue Rifando FUCK ALL U HATERS !

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  14. Sigue, if you are in, then tell us what is really going on with Sinaloa!

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  15. MAN HE COULD BE IN CHINA FOR ALL WE KNOW. OOOPS. NOW HE HAS TO PICK ANOTHER SPOT SINCE I BURNED THE LAST ONE OUT FOR HIM. THE U.S. OR MEXICO WOULD NEVER CATCH EL CHAPO. HE IS MORE BIGGER THAN WHAT PABLO ESCOBAR EVER WAS. ITS TOO LATE. SORRY.

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  16. God knows where JGL is, he may be the bad lad, but he's NOT the first and last bad man on the earth. He is a good man in some ways, but it is understanding that what he did and does in his life is not acceptable and it needs stopping. Smoking cigarette legalised, alcohol legalised, why not marijuana? cigarette and alcohol are worse than marijuana, lots of people died of these damn things.

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  17. ARRIVA EL CHAPO GUZMAN 2011 EL CHAPITO

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  18. WTF...PPL U GUYS DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT UR TALKING ABOUT...I SUPORT MY MAN "CHAPO GUZMAN" K SIGA EL DESMADRE PLEBADA...PILAS BIEN PILAS
    AM WITH EL JEFE DE JEFE EL SR CHAPO GUZMAN...SU PADRE KABRONES

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