Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

'Chapo' Guzman Capture Provides Glimpse of Mexico's Past, Future



The dramatic capture of Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman is the end of an era for Mexico’s underworld.

The new normal may be an increasingly chaotic criminal terrain, and, facing a more coordinated Mexican security strategy, the next generation of criminal groups may find it impossible to replicate the empire Guzman created.


The change in the dynamics and makeup of the underworld has been coming for a long time. What were once five major cartels in the late 1990s had morphed into 80 criminal groups operating in nearly every state by late 2012. 

To a certain extent, Guzman’s organization, the Sinaloa Cartel, had taken advantage of this atomization, spreading into new territory in recent years, most notably Tijuana and Juarez. Along the way, the Sinaloa Cartel could not avoid atomizing itself, thus leaving its structures greatly weakened and its leaders vulnerable. 

The process occurred on many levels. In order to stave off increasingly violent rivals, groups like the Sinaloa Cartel had to create military structures. The mid-level to high-level commanders running these structures needed more money to grow and maintain their armies, something the bosses were not always willing to provide.

The only solution to this problem was to give these commanders more autonomy, thus opening up rivalries within organizations, in-fighting and eventually breakaways. This process accelerated as Mexico’s criminal economy expanded, especially as the local illegal drug market grew.  

No organization could withstand these forces. The Tijuana, Juarez, Gulf, Milenio and Sinaloa Cartels have all suffered splits. Many have since split several more times since.

The vulnerability of the Sinaloa Cartel was evident beginning in 2008, when its former armed wing, the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO), broke off and began a bloody battle with its bosses. The BLO, it was thought, was on the verge of extinction.

But by 2011, the group had resurged, in part due to this new local, criminal economy. And in 2012, the BLO, the Zetas and La Linea -- two other groups who had once been armed wings of larger organizations -- did something that was unthinkable a few years ago: attacked several strongholds of Chapo’s organization in Sinaloa.

Other weaknesses became evident in recent months. Chapo’s top associate and longtime partner, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, had several top enforcers arrested and at least one killed.
Chapo's Father-I-Law,  Inés Coronel Barrera
Chapo’s own father-in-law was also captured and numerous allies, operatives and businesses were coming under the US Treasury’s microscope.

The net around Chapo was clearly tightening. One US anti-narcotics official told a Mexican journalist that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had Chapo in its sights twice but that Mexican government officials balked at green-lighting the operations. Chapo was also “nearly” captured in 2012.  

With the help of the DEA, authorities finally corralled him in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, a supposed stronghold of his partner El Mayo. It was a fitting end: Chapo, who is from Sinaloa, was not even safe in his own backyard.  

Guzman was number 75 on a list of the 122 major targets of the Enrique Peña Nieto administration. But it was by far the biggest victory for the president in his fight against organized crime and validates his decision to make minor, rather than major adjustments to the strategy implemented by his predecessor, Felipe Calderon.



Calderon, who governed between 2006 and 2012, has taken a lot of flack for starting this fight against the large criminal structures, which had functioned for decades with a nod and a wink from the country’s political elites. It was the right decision, even if it was not the most organized and certainly not the most well presented strategy.




Violence soared and devoured the Calderon presidency. While he had his successes, Calderon also seemed to lose sight of the most important objective: creating accountable institutions that can respond to all problems, not just large, international drug trafficking groups.  

Peña Nieto has taken Calderon’s concept to another level and has tinkered with, rather than overhauled, what Calderon had begun. He has centered his strategy on lowering violence. But among the most important changes he’s made is centralizing command and control in the Interior Ministry and rethinking the way government organized its forces.

In December 2012, the newly inaugurated Peña Nieto government broke the country into regions. All of its forces -- from the Attorney General’s Office to the intelligence services to the federal police -- followed suit.


Federal Police Intelligence Center of the Public Security Secretariat
ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE HAS COME A LONG WAY 
Government preparing men for radio work under direction of Federal Vocational Board. Student transmitting a message to four of his classmates in the class room at the Stuyvesant Evening High School, N.Y., April 1918.
The Signal Corps operated these "Radio Tractors" along the US/Mexico border as the Radio Intelligence Service, part of the fledgling Military Intelligence Division.
Better coordination has followed, especially between intelligence and operative branches, which is what has led to several important captures.  


Peña Nieto also appears willing and able to bypass inoperative and corrupt state and municipal governments more effectively than his predecessor. This is, in part, related to his Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI) disciplined approach and control over administrative and political matters. 

To cite just one other example aside from the Guzman capture, federal authorities have arrested over 500 suspected criminals in its operations in the embattled state of Michoacan in recent weeks.

Much of the rest of the Calderon strategy, controversial as it was, remains in place. The government continues to slowly purge the police and institute a new justice system. It is establishing a federal criminal code, which should facilitate this process.   

The new administration uses the army, the Marines and the federal police in high conflict areas. It has allowed continued cooperation between the DEA and the Mexican Marines, a duo that has produced some of the most important captures and kills of suspected, high-level drug traffickers in the country and was the spear in the Guzman operation.   

Mexican authorities say that their approach is more holistic but evidence of its impact across categories is scant. Violence is down, but just how much is a subject of debate. What’s more, kidnappings and extortion are at record levels.

This is part of the new criminal landscape caused by this atomization. With at least 80 criminal organizations operating throughout the country, the competition is fierce. Their objectives vary but increasingly the battleground is not the international but the national market.

Paradoxically, this is what the government wants. These are smaller organizations, with less ability, connections and capital to compromise the state. They therefore represent less of a national and more of a local threat.

They have less ability and fewer connections on an international level as well. In fact, it appears as if the days of the vertically integrated, monolithic trafficking organizations are coming to an end.

To be sure, this is not an easy road, as Colombia found out following the death of Pablo Escobar and the subsequent dismantling of numerous, large criminal organizations that followed such as the Norte del Valle Cartel and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

What's more, the Sinaloa Cartel is not dead. It still has a large, sophisticated structure spread across a huge swath of territory with a tremendous ability to penetrate governments large and small. Two of its leaders, El Mayo and Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno, alias "El Azul," are still at large and, by many accounts, it has been running smoothly without Chapo's regular input for some time.

But its power is waning. And it is difficult to imagine Guzman passing the torch to anyone from a younger generation, at least one that could successfully restore it to its former status.

63 comments:

  1. zetas only getting stronger...hate all you want ..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Zetas are evil!

      Delete
    2. Zeta are garbage. They have been dismantled. Lol

      Delete
  2. what happened to el chayo? i thought they had him surrounded????

    I guess he escaped? never got an update chivis......

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chapo paid to have sex with 12 and 13 year old, CHAPO IS A MOLESTER

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes we heard u!! U already posted that in other posts. Give it a rest

      Delete
    2. Are you the little girl he had sex with other than that you guys still spreading rumors about him lol.

      Delete
  4. Its a good feeling knowing this trash is behind bars

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wonder if all the chapos ball lickers would of thought the same if he would of got caught having sex with a lil girl

    ReplyDelete
  6. say what you want about EPN...

    but the man is getting things done.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chapo is gona die in prison

    ReplyDelete
  8. Chapo went down like a pussy ass snitch

    ReplyDelete
  9. Quintero, Mayo and azul are better people than chapo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quintero was a child molester also.

      Delete
  10. yeah, yeah... (divide y venceras) divide and conquer, nobody is going to believe anything from a fucking president that as a governor of the state of mexico had poor farmers murdered by his police and military for protesting the stealing of their lands for his airport, paying them 1.00 peso per hectare.
    the drug trafficking is just getting taken over by the military and police,who will step up the kidnapping, extortion and disappearances, just as the president's masters keep paying him to keep stealing the mexican's patrimony; we want to see the big politicians that have been robbing states and municipal governments, the narco-associates, police and military persecuted and hauled to court, which will never happen...
    the demonstrations in favor of el chapo have been hindered by the state of sinaloa's government, and pena nieto has demanded that malova put a stop to them, so much for freedom and democracy, the presidential designated commissioner of the federal police, enrique francisco galindo ceballos, "zeta from the start", continues "serving" his country as kidnappings, muders and extortion levels keep rising from the DF, the state of mexico and all over the country; keeping appearances may be good for foreign businesses that can afford to be heard by their president ,not for the people that have to support and pay their victimizers, under the protecting umbrella of the federal government...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Say what u want bout EPN but he catches the big fish.. Calderon should be hung for treason on r Beutifull country

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are the classic pawn of PRI that votes for them regardless if they have leeched this countries riches and turned a blind eye to anybody that is not considered elite. You are the reason mexico will always be a shit hole.

      Delete
  12. Chapos mom did an interview. U guys should check it out.. why do I get a feeling she's bout to get torched

    ReplyDelete
  13. It will prove difficult for the 'old generation' mafiosos (chapo, mayo, azul, albino quintero, beltranes, etc...) to find trustworthy narco-juniors to discipline in the art of trafficking like they did in cooperation w/ the Mexican goverment and with respect for civilian life. This new instagram/facebook generation is only interested in how they look on the internet and not in the interest of success in a corporate standpoint.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Consuelo's interview will be up, working on the translation.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I did write a couple updates on chayo
    I will ask my source for a few details...

    BUT

    twice in the past 5 or 6 weeks he was located and surrounded by autodefensas. but waiting for feds allows him to escape. the feds take 8+ hrs to respond.

    yesterday dr Mireles, hip and smurf had a behind closed doors no info released meeting. I will venture to say it is to ask WTF? autodefensas have that territory completely surrounded all the way from lazaro to Nvo Italia and Apatzingán to Coalcomán.

    completely surround the sierra where both chayo and tuta are.
    I feel confidant that one or both will be captured if the feds truly work with AD. AD has better intelligence and knows how to navigate the mountains. feds do not and are slow to react.

    ReplyDelete
  16. If you never have been deep inside Mexico you have no idea that there is a great difference in culture. It's not the united states. That being said, don't expect Mexico to ever be modeled after the U.S....corruption will exist, and so will the cartels. El Chapo may even be set free in a few years on a technicality. Don't believe it?.....why is Caro Quintero out?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Has albino been out?? Can you inform us a little more of his process ?? Would be delighted thanks

    ReplyDelete
  18. That is why Amado Carrillo Fuentes (Lord of the Skies) never allowed consumption of drugs within Juarez. He knew he would lose operational control of the drug trade.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Albino Quintero Meraz has been out for 2 years. Nothing was said at his release as the Mex gov't wants to keep his political payoffs off the radar. Its said he lives in Cuernavaca.

      Delete
  19. chivis this is unrelated but i was wondering if you read the article the daly beast had a few days ago about the the mafia bossess beauty queens, i didn't know it was a tradition going back more than half a century in Sinaloa, even an Italian mafia Boss married a Sinaloan beauty queen in the 1950's or 60's, i was wondering if you could do some research about it and post it, along with pictures if any of the the women, the article is titled "drug cartel beauty queens face an ugly end" on the daly beast

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ok,so heres whats going on in Mexico where I live,although some people ignore the acutal events or are too wrapped up watching novelas & soccer,or Chapos capture...to begin with anon March1 11:59 AM,Pena Nieto is a traitor to our Country...him & Salinas are looking forward to selling off our Petroleum...not only that but Chapos capture is all smoke & mirrors.What about Raul Salinas´ release,or Moriera,or Garcia Luna?Those are THE BIG FISH!!The real disease in our Mexico isnt Narcos,its the Politicians that allow them to flourish & at the same time pillage our resources & revenues from the minerals & petroleum!Its sad that our people are to busy watching Televisa & TV Azteca...Ignorance is the Politicians best ally in my COUNTRY!The people here would rather march & protest to have Chapo freed(something that would only benefit a certain circle)than to march ,protest & DEMAND that our Constitutional Rights be respected & that the profit generated by our Petroleum be accounted for accordingly.The culprit here is our people,our own ignorance fueled & supported by Politicians that profit from it!The Politicians should be the ones in a U.S court of law...but no,Uncle Sam allows them refuge...like in Garcia Lunas´ case & or Pena Nieto & his Narco funded campaign.(but thats another issue)Lets get back to Mexico & its plague of rotten politicians,from Salinas,Fox,Calderon & now Pena Nieto.The last being the worst traitor to our people!All of the above have had their minions that dealt & catered to Organized Crime...So in essence,the real Mafia is in Los Pinos & has been there for a long time...too long if you asked me.Saludos y por favor,si no vives en Mexico o no sabes como estan las cosas aki,no comenten a lo pendejo,Gracias!

    ReplyDelete
  21. @ chivis 1:42pm

    why dont the auto defensas just storm the place? why do they wait for the feds? i mean the autodefensas already fight the cartel, why not finish the job yourselves if you have the guy surrounded?

    have the autodefensas killed any big time player before? what would happen to them if they stormed the place and killed or apprehended el chayo?

    ReplyDelete
  22. what's up? check out this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvwkkdXF4qo
    Min 38 ... diana Ojeda quintana... daughter of Gilberto Ojeda Camacho a top mexicanl politician ,. in the video they show pictures of his father with peña nieto, calderón, etc. she is the wife of a capo of culiacan.. that's the example of how corrupted is culiacan...

    ReplyDelete
  23. outstanding read very good way to go

    ReplyDelete
  24. Sinaloa Cartel Kills Migrants Too

    http://borderland-beat-forum.924382.n3.nabble.com/El-Chapo-perhaps-not-so-decent-as-some-might-think-td4065868.html

    777



    ReplyDelete
  25. chapo was number 75 on the most wanted list?? any body got that list?

    ReplyDelete
  26. 11:38 arcelor-mittal and the new owners of pemex are making epn's ass move, and it's moving against easy targets, all the people murdered previously never mattered to the mexican government (AMNEXICAN; eureka a new word!!!), PAN or PRI, and it never mattered when the PRI worked sooo hard to destabilize the country, paving the way back to the presidency with narco-murders, money, drugs and graft,the president, now on the way to much biugger money, is bitting the narco hands that fed his ass, and stabbing them on the back, ct, cdg, cds, cdt, blo, cdj,gn, cdp, zietazhh, say goodbye to your leaders, and make sure these popoliticians now stabbing them in the ass, right where the back losses it's honorable name, come dawn by the next presidential period,down to court and prison; join the politicians on time, and make sure to play in your field with your ball, and your game, and work on the death penalty for corrupt government officers.

    ReplyDelete
  27. puro estado de sinaloa compa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Estado lleno de lambe wevos. No tienen clase. Pongansen bien y dejen de pendejadas

      Delete
  28. GOD BLESS MEXICO AND AUTO DEFENSAS MOVEMENT ! THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE PREVAIL AND DOWN WITH PUPPET ENRIQUE PENA TRAITOR TO MEXICO RAT BSTRD !

    ReplyDelete
  29. I'm not rooting for chapo anymore .Mayo is the man now .


    ReplyDelete
  30. Chapo said el mayo betrayed him... The snitch got snitched on lol

    ReplyDelete
  31. @5:09 He was not no. 75 on the list.... he was the 75th person to be captured from the list.

    ReplyDelete
  32. After 50, the bosses have got to be tired of the narco business.

    ReplyDelete
  33. cds will fall for these 2 facts chapos son want full control and zambada with i strongly beleive had something to do with chapos capture like i posted before dont under estimate mayo and trust me i fck dislike cds for all the wars they started but mayo wasnt stupid he knew chapo was crippling his power and chapo got what he deserved know let see if mayo lets these over priviledge kids run the organization or zambada set them up to cause know its who wants the power Los Arellanos y Los Zetas y Juarez y Beltran van a seguir la paz el problema siempre fue el DEDO DEL CHAPO

    ReplyDelete
  34. @4:08 como va a ser,mon, @11:37 es macho calao, ya se ha calao muchas veces y no le agarra la onda, no le gusta,como va a ser. eigleissch: @408 how is that gonna be possible,mon, 11:37 is a tried and proven man, he has tried many times and he don;t like it, he don't get the hang of it, how is it going to be possible.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Although the Tjuana and Juarez cartel are not the Sinaloa cartel their leaders are from there. Sort of like cancer.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Hope zetas get too chapos mom so they can finish her off just the way chapo left a lot of lil kids orphens

    ReplyDelete
  37. thanks chivis, it was me who wrote and asked about the consuelo interview

    ReplyDelete
  38. @10:59 AM: Omar's a COWARD, period.

    ReplyDelete
  39. The stories and comments here some defy reason. most of these comments are plain hating. Truth is, there's so much money in narco trafficking that there is always huge opportunity for splinter groups, or any ambitious individuals, to pull together a lasting organization. Sky is the limit. That includes dying organizations to join forces. Amado Carillo Fuentes and mayo Zambada once did the same thing. So all you idiot Web site surfing haters can eat it. Keep hating and fantasize about Chapo snitching, instead of being strong and intelligent enough to run one of the largest criminal enterprises in the world.



    William John Frank

    ReplyDelete
  40. Quintero is disconnected, old and weak ... soon he will be history as well.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Caro Quintero isn't a killer. He was a farmer, the country boy who gave the world sin semilla pot. He listened to the wrong people, got involved in the cocaine biz, got silly rich, then sacrificed to the court of public opinion, convicted wrongfully of Cammera's brutal killing, actually carried out by DEA itself covering up the Iran Contra drugs/weapons gig. Mayo & Chapo got a ticket to ride for years afterward since it was their cocaine sent to the Nicaraguans, via Caro Quintero's landing strips. Kiki Cammera figured out his co-workers were dirty, tried to resign from the DEA, was tortured and murdered for his trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  42. The biggest question I see is how are Mayo's men captured but Chapó falls? It almost seems as a counter attack or revenge. Just analyzing the recent turn of events.

    ReplyDelete
  43. No it says he was number 75 on the list of 122 mutha sukkas

    ReplyDelete
  44. You want an elderly woman to get murdered? For her sons activities? Wow, guilt by proxy.. that is about as knee jerk ignorant one could get

    ReplyDelete
  45. one thing is that american,mexican governments all over the world are currupt,wake up people,if this is really chapo captured!!!why did they nodc ask him questions and have an interview after they supposably captured him.they only showed interviews when they caught him but people will only know the truth if they hear his voice and compare it to the old videos when he was first caught.personally I think its either a scam or chapo and pen nieto have a pact so niggerbama stops bitching about capturing him.most us citizens believe that the us government is against drug cartels and all but in reality the cia is the main one who let's cartels transport drugs into the usa.the dea can bust certain people but if it tries to get involed with cia business they can't cuz cia is more powerful then dea.for example kike camarena,he was killed for trying to bust caro quintero,quintero did not kill camarena,yet that's what news brainwashes u to belive,cia ordered the hit on camarena to shut his lil bitch ass up,for trying to get involved and trying to stop the drug business.play with fire you will get burned!

    ReplyDelete
  46. 10:47 Kiki Camarena discovered that "rogue" CIA agents in mexico were dirty, AND is said to have come up with the idea of following the money and taking it from the CIA's narco associates, as DEA agents, for the US government, THAT cost him his life, after days of torture, juan ramon matta ballesteros, honduran, a close associate of felix ismael rodriguez (CIA) was found to have been there, along with caro quintero, accused, arrested, sent to the US where he spent 25 years in prison, mexico found "mysteriously" that matta ballesteros had not been there, was not guilty of anything regarding the death of camarena and was exhonerated by the mexican authorities; after being outed by berreillez, rodriguez is saying now that he wasn't there, and he has witnesses (like the N he is). rodriguez claims he was assisting some nicaraguan contras that had been hit by daniel ortega's army... why can't we believe him? as a CIA specialist, he must have had EMS technician training too, he must have been giving them mouth to mouth resuscitation to those contras too, claims that it is all a cuban communist conspiration against him; that DECORATED DEA AGENTS, SPECIALISTS IN CATCHING EXACTLY PEOPLE lIKE HIM, are imbeciles...
    --agents jordan and berreillez do not have a record of being crooks or liars anywhere in the world.
    -felix ismael "el gato" rodriguez, aka ivan gomez, has a long record and bad reputation of being a crook and a liar all over the world.
    -along with "some" CIA rogue agents and the bush family...

    ReplyDelete
  47. Killing is no solution. Even if you kill all the killers, there will still be one left standing. Chapo's done. What's next is anyone's guess. The gringos' plans for Mexico don't include asking EPN permission to do as they please, much less respecting Mexico's sovereignty.

    ReplyDelete
  48. chapo is a coward too not just omar chaponutthugger n a child molestor ahi esta tu santo werko pendejo

    ReplyDelete
  49. Who can answer this. Chapo had millions of dollars in safe houses around mexico. If you are holding one of these houses, would you run with the money and risk it or stay sitting on it? Very tempting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would pack up and run with the money. At the same time I would give up the accountant who has all the info on where he has the money hid in safe houses like that they catch him and no one will come looking for me. Ya . A new millionaire

      Delete
  50. Now the Zetas will take their rightful position at the top and will show Mexico the way forward. CDG will disapear soon, and even the side of the road orange trade will be forbidden to the disarmed CDG.

    ReplyDelete
  51. @1:25 a todos los nuthuggerz del patuleco z42, z41, y z40:
    ---chapo's more than 40 year long career is over, but after a few years of party in prison, he had a second coming in your face, during the thirteen years he was out, he had an even more glorious career.
    ---z40, the walking barrel of menudo, was carwashin during that time, moving up to ass kisser of lazcano, for about ten years; ,after six months, six!!! he lost his ass for good, widely reviled for being a snitch and a judas, for not paying the maruchanero army, and stealing the company money, and leaving coahuila, tamaulipas and everywhere he went peppered with the dismembered victims of his "organization".
    ---what do you wanna brag about?

    ReplyDelete
  52. @ March 1, 2014 at 11:55 AM
    Estoy completamente de acuerdo contigo. Chapo era un chivo expiatorio. Que coincidencia... a penas vino a visitar Obama, y de repente, muy poco despues, agararrón al Chapo. Es que le dijo a Peña Bonito, "Ya es tiempo para agarrarlo, para que la gente tenga más confianza en ti. Ya no lo necesitamos." Y la mayoria de la población (los borregos) creen que fue un exitoso operativo de Peña Bonito. Puro chismes.

    Estoy en Guerrero. La semana pasada matarón 3 personas en la casa de un albanil mio. Aparentamente, su hermano estaba metido en algo. Tirarón casí 80 balazos, pero no lo alcanzarón a matarle a el. Seria chistoso, si no fuera tan triste. Es más, nos pidio un avance de sueldo para tener techo, porque los Federales no los dejarón a los sobrevivientes regresar a su casa. [Se le regalamos lo que nos pidio, pues.] Ésta es nuestra realidad. La captura del Chapo no quiere decir nada para nosotros... todo sigue igual.

    Hasta luego,
    AmigoAnónimo

    ReplyDelete
  53. amiganonimo you still around? it's good that you help your guys.
    regarding "la mayoria de la gente" i think they support el chapo, from sinaloa to anywhere in mexico, he did not have to kill as many reporters as the afo, the cholo jorge hank rohn ("the donald trump" del rancho de tj to the el DF) the zetas, now that it is a good time to bring it out, the press could report on where are the cartels and were are the reporters killed or disappeared from, i'd say the champion is among guerrero, veracruz, tamaulipas and coahuila. not to say sinaloa gangsters are innocent, but when it comes to disappearing people, extortion and senseles murders, the policia federal and the army, active or retired, they steal the cake wherever they go, and the more their commanders have been formed closer to the DF the worse it looks.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated, refer to policy for more information.
Envía fotos, vídeos, notas, enlaces o información
Todo 100% Anónimo;

borderlandbeat@gmail.com