By Olivier Acuña
Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman
MEXICO CITY (Mexico Tribune).- It is now clear that Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman fears going to the United States to face justice there or does it? It seems odd that high-paid lawyers would know better than to file an injunction against his extradition it the U.S. has not yet filed a formal request. Is this all part of a side show? It just seems extremley absurd to appeal something that does not exist. Are his lawyers incompetent or even stupid?
This questions come up as reports that a Mexican court rejected Chapo Guzman’s appeal to avoid extradition arguing the absence of any formal petition by the U.S.
“There has to be an extradition request laid by the United States first and then Mr. Guzman can appeal against it,” the court said.
Following his February 22 capture, Guzman filed a motion for an immediate injunction to prevent extradition to the U.S., where at least seven federal district courts have indicted him on charges of money laundering and ferrying massive shipments of cocaine into the country.
Chicago wants him more than any other place in the United States, because he had his base of operations there and he is accused of causing more deaths in that territory than Osama Bin Laden. In fact, he was declared Public Enemy Number One, a title not given to anyone since Al Capone in the 30s.
Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam announced last week that the government intends to try to sentence Guzman in Mexico before weighing possible extradition to the United States, though he has already discussed the issue with his counterpart Eric Holder.
President Enrique Pena Nieto said immediately after the capture of the “world’s most wanted and most powerful drug trafficker” that “this criminal will have to pay his dues in Mexico first before we consider any extradition to the United States.”
Mr. Pena Nieto mentioned the fact that Chapo Guzman has a pending sentence of 12 years since he escaped in 2003 with the alleged support and approval of very high ranking government officials of the Vicente Fox presidency.
Mexican Marines, backed by intelligence provided by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, captured Guzman in the Pacific resort city of Mazatlan last month. He was staying with his beauty-queen wife and two-year-old twin daughters in a condominium, and was arrested without a single shot being fired.
After his arrest, Chapo Guzman said he was ready to vanish to the mountains of Sinaloa .- where most Sinaloan drug lords are from, live and hide – but reportedly admitted that his biggest mistake was to have wanted to see his daughters before leaving.
“I screwed up, but I hadn´t seen my daughters or my wife in quite some time and wanted to be with them before vanishing up in the mountains. This was my biggest mistake,” he allegedly said.
Many still find it hard to believe that he was caught so easily and without bodyguards, given the fact that he always had at least 30 heavily armed men guarding him.
Rumours have it that he was either betrayed by Rafael Caro Quintero – another of the most powerful drug lords in the world who had been suspiciously released from jail – or that he agreed to turn himself under specific conditions.
Whatever the case, the Mexican government needs to put on a convincing show revolving this issue, because it has no credibility and its reputation is that of a very corrupt entity, so it could be speculated that this absurd and unnecessary injunction could be just another side show.
Anyway, the Mexican government considers the criminal organization Guzman headed, the Sinaloa cartel, to be responsible for most of the drugs entering the United States and has insistently said it wants him to face justice here before even considering extradition.
The Sinaloa cartel operates in about 50 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia, so it is difficult to believe that such an enormous and profitable operation will be even slightly affected by Chapo Guzman’s arrest
Whoever takes over, be it Caro Quintero, Juan Jose “El Azul” Esparragoza, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada or even one of Guzman´s sons, Archivaldo or Ivan, there is no doubt that the Sinaloa cartel will continue to move ahead, because we´ve said it before and will say it again, its all about customers, not providers.
While there are people buying drugs, there will be someone willing to sell them.
MexTrib/oab
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