Is Mexico close to capturing its most wanted fugitive?
Mexico's arrest of Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, a Sinaloa security chief, suggests that the government is homing in on Sinaloa leader Joaquin 'Chapo' Guzman, the world's most wanted mobster.
Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, alias "El Inge," is shown to the press under the custody of army soldiers at the federal organized crime investigations headquarters (SIEDO) in Mexico City, Monday. According to federal authorities, Sarabia is a close associate and head of security for Sinaloa leader Joaquin 'Chapo' Guzman, the world's most wanted mobster. Does this mean Mexican authorities are getting close to capturing 'El Chapo?'
Marco Ugarte/AP
Mexico's capture of a "Chapo" Guzman "security chief" means one of two things: Mexican authorities are close to seizing the most wanted drug trafficker in the world; or Mexican authorities are not disciplined enough yet to capture the most wanted drug trafficker in the world.
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In a news conference on December 26, the Mexican army said (see video at original blog) Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, alias "el Inge" (short for "Engineer" in Spanish), was captured in the state of Sinaloa, from which Joaquin Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel takes its name.
[See InSight Crime's Sinaloa Cartel profile]
The army added that Mr. Cabrera managed some production of drugs in the neighboring states of Durango and Chihuahua. Cabrera's crew is also fighting another local group, the "Ms," in Durango, the army said.
The government has unearthed numerous clandestine graves in the state, which presumably are a result of this battle for control of the local drug market and the international corridor. In addition to production, Durango is an important storage and dispatch area for drugs headed north.
More importantly, the army said that Cabrera was part of Mr. Guzman's security team in the Sierra Madre mountains where the most wanted capo in the world is allegedly hiding.
[See InSight Crime's 'Chapo' Guzman profile]
If true, this capture begs the question: Why not wait? Other governments, most notably the United States and Colombia, have shown that the best way to find a top leader is by following their most trusted servants and guards.
The most recent example is the Colombian government's nearly four-year operation to kill the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Guillermo Leon Saenz, alias "Alfonso Cano."
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