Sinaloa
—  State  —
Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa
Flag Seal
State of Sinaloa within Mexico
Coordinates: 25°0′10″N 107°30′10″W / 25.00278°N 107.50278°W / 25.00278; -107.50278Coordinates: 25°0′10″N 107°30′10″W / 25.00278°N 107.50278°W / 25.00278; -107.50278
Country	Mexico
Capital	Culiacán Rosales
Largest City	Culiacán Rosales
Municipalities	18
Admission	October 14, 1830[1]
Order	20th
Government
• Governor	Mario López Valdez
• Senators[2]	Francisco Labastida Margarita Villaescusa (I) María Serrano
• Deputies[3]	Federal Deputies • Rolando Bojórquez • Germán Contreras • Miguel Ángel García • Hadamira Gastélum • Aarón Irízar López • Óscar Javier Lara • Óscar Lara Salazar • Óscar Levin Coppel • Alfredo Villegas • Rolando Zubia Rivera • Manuel Clouthier • Eduardo Robles Medina • Adolfo Rojo Montoya • Herón Escobar García
Area[4]
• Total	57,377 km2 (22,153 sq mi)
	Ranked 18th
Highest elevation[5]	2,520 m (8,270 ft)
Population (2010)[6]
• Total	2,767,761
• Rank	15th
• Density	48/km2 (120/sq mi)
• Density rank	18th
Demonym	Sinaloense
Time zone	MST (UTC−7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC−6)
Postal code	80-82
Area code	Area codes • 667 • 668 • 669 • 672 • 673 • 687 • 694 • 695 • 696 • 697 • 698
ISO 3166 code	MX-SIN
HDI	0.842 high Ranked 13th
GDP	US$ 13,749,376.25 th[a]
Website	Official Web Site
^ a. The state's GDP was $175,992,016 thousand of pesos in 2008,[6] amount corresponding to $13,749,376.25 thousand of dollars, being a dollar worth 12.80 pesos (value of June 3, 2010).[7]

Sinaloa (Spanish pronunciation: [sinaˈloa]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.

It is located in Northwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Sonora to the north, Chihuahua and Durango to the east (separated from them by the Sierra Madre Occidental) and Nayarit to the south. To the west, Sinaloa has a significant share of coastline on the Gulf of California.

The state covers an area of 57,377 square kilometers (22,153 sq mi), and includes the Islands of Palmito Verde, Palmito de la Virgen, Altamura, Santa María, Saliaca, Macapule and San Ignacio.

In addition to the capital city, the state's important cities include Mazatlán and Los Mochis.

History[link]

Prior to the coming of the Spaniards, much of Sinaloa was inhabited by the Cáhita.

In 1531 Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán with a force of over 10,000 defeated a force of 30,000 Cáhita at the site of Culiacan. Beltran de Guzman established a Spanish and allied Indian outpost at Culiacan. Over the next decade, the Cáhita suffered severe depopulation from smallpox and other diseases the Spanish brought.

The Spanish organized Sinaloa as part of the gobierno of Nueva Galicia. In 1564, the area was realigned, with the area of Culiacan and Cosala remainind in the control of Nueva Galicia, while the areas to the north, south and west were put in the newly formed Nueva Vizcaya, making the Culiacan area an exclave of Nueva Galicia. The first capital of Nueva Vizcaya was located in San Sebastian, Sinaloa, near Copala, but the capital moved to Durango, Durango in 1583.^[8]

Starting in 1599, Jesuit missionaries spread out from a base at what is now Sinaloa de Leyva, and by 1610, the Spanish influence had been extended to the northern edge of Sinaloa. In 1601, the Jesuits' movement into the eastern part of Sinaloa lead to the Acaxee going to war. The Spanish eventually managed to reassert authority in the Sierra Madre and executed 48 Acaxee leaders.^[9]

After Mexican independence, Sinaloa was joined with Senora as Occidente State, but it became a separate state in 1830.

Geography and environment[link]

The coastal plain is a narrow strip of land that stretches along the length of the state and lies between the ocean and the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental Range, which dominates the eastern part of the state. Sinaloa is traversed by many rivers, which carve broad valleys into the foothills. The largest of these rivers are the Culiacán, Fuerte, and Sinaloa.

Sinaloa has a warm climate on the coastal side, moderately warm in the valleys and foothills, moderately cold in the lower mountains and cold in the higher elevations. Its weather characteristics vary from subtropical, found on the plains, to cold in the nearby mountains. Temperatures range from 22 °C (72 °F) to 43 °C (109 °F) with rains during the summer.

Numerous species of plants and animals are found within Sinaloa. Notable among the tree species is the elephant tree, Bursera microphylla.^[10]

Culture[link]

Culturally, it is known for a style of music known as banda, and corrido is also popular. It is the only place in the continent where the ancient ball game of Mesoamerica is still played, in a handful of small, rural communities not far from Mazatlán. The ritual ball game was central in the society, religion and cosmology of all the great Mesoamerican cultures including the Mixtecs, Aztecs, and Maya.

A Ulama player in Sinaloa.

The Sinaloa version of the ball game is called ulama, and is very similar to the original.^[11] There are efforts to avoid the extinction of this 3500-year old unique tradition by supporting the communities and children who still play it.^[12]

Demography[link]

According to the 2010 census, Sinaloa is home to 2,767,761^[6] inhabitants, 61% of which reside in the capital city of Culiacán and the municipalities of Mazatlán and Ahome. It is a young state in terms of population, 56% of which is younger than 30 years.

Other demographic particulars report 87% of the state following the Catholic faith; 1% of those over five years of age speaking an indigenous dialect together with the Spanish language; the main indigenous ethnic groups still residing in the state are the Mixtecs and Maya, followed by the Nahuatl and the Zapotecs. Life expectancy in the state follows the national tendency of higher rates for women than men, a difference of almost five years in the case of Sinaloa, at 72.5 and 77.4 years respectively.

In ethnic composition, Sinaloa received large historic waves of immigration from Europe, the Americas and Asia (mainly China, Japan and the Philippines during Spanish and later American rule), and retirees from the U.S. and Canada. Coastal towns and communities have some persons of British–Irish, French, German, Greek, Italian, and Russian ancestry. There was also a sizable influx of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.

Education[link]

In terms of education, average schooling reaches 8.5 years; 7% of those over 15 years of age are illiterate, and 5% of children under 14 years of age do not attend school.^{[citation needed]}

Institutions of higher education include Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Sinaloa, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Mazatlán and Universidad Casa Blanca.

Municipalities[link]

Sinaloa is subdivided into 18 municipios (municipalities) See Municipalities of Sinaloa

The state's major cities include the capital Culiacán, Mazatlán, a tourist resort, and Los Mochis, an agricultural center.

Economy[link]

Tamazula River in Culiacán, Sinaloa

The main productive activities of Sinaloa are agriculture, fishing, livestock breeding, commerce and industry. The products obtained from these activities are used for both local and national consumption. Agriculture produces tomatoes, beans, corn, wheat, sorghum, potatoes, soybeans, sugarcane and squash. Sinaloa is the most prominent state in Mexico in terms of agriculture, and additionally has the second largest fishing fleet. Livestock produces meat, sausages, cheese and milk also sour creme. Cannabis and Opium are also cultivated in high quantities in this region.

Government and politics[link]

The current governor of Sinaloa is CPA Mario López Valdéz (aka Malova) (PAN), elected for the period 2011–2016. The state is represented in Mexico City by three Senators in the upper house of Mexican Congress: Francisco Labastida Ochoa (PRI), Margarita Villaescusa (Independent) and María Serrano (PAN). It also has fourteen federal deputies in the lower house.

Notable natives and residents[link]

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	North America portal
	Latin America portal
	Mexico portal

• Sinaloa Cartel

Notes[link]

References[link]

• C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Elephant Tree: Bursera microphylla, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
• Asociacion de Gestores del Patrimonio Historico y Cultural de Mazatlán. 2009. The Mesoamerican Ballgame-Ulama

External links[link]

• (Spanish) Sinaloa state government
• The History of Indigenous Sinaloa
• PBS Frontline: The place Mexico's drug kingpins call home

v t e  State of Sinaloa Culiacán (capital) Municipalities and (municipal seats) Ahome (Los Mochis) Angostura (Angostura) Badiraguato (Badiraguato) Choix (Choix) Concordia (Concordia) Cosalá (Cosalá) Culiacán (Culiacán) El Fuerte (El Fuerte) Elota (La Cruz) Escuinapa (Escuinapa) Guasave (Guasave) Mazatlán (Mazatlán) Mocorito (Mocorito) Navolato (Navolato) Rosario (Rosario) Salvador Alvarado (Guamúchil) San Ignacio (San Ignacio) Sinaloa (Sinaloa de Leyva)

v t e States of Mexico States Aguascalientes Baja California Baja California Sur Campeche Chiapas Chihuahua Coahuila Colima Durango Guanajuato Guerrero Hidalgo Jalisco México Michoacán Morelos Nayarit Nuevo León Oaxaca Puebla Querétaro Quintana Roo San Luis Potosí Sinaloa Sonora Tabasco Tamaulipas Tlaxcala Veracruz Yucatán Zacatecas Federal District Mexico City

Joaquín Guzmán Loera
"El Chapo Guzmán"
Born	Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera (1957-04-04) April 4, 1957 (age 55)[1] La Tuna, Badiraguato, Sinaloa, Mexico
Other names	"El Chapo" Guzmán[2]
Occupation	Drug Lord
Known for	Sinaloa Cartel drug lord
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	75 kg (170 lb)
Predecessor	Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
Spouse	Emma Coronel Aispuro
Partner	Ismael Zambada Garcia, Ignacio Coronel-Villareal and Juan José Esparragoza Moreno
Children	César, Iván Archivaldo, Jesús Alfredo, Joaquín, Ovidio, Griselda Guadalupe, Édgar(†)
Notes Rewards of $5 million USD and $2 million USD are offered respectively, by the United States[1][3] and Mexico[4] for information leading to his capture.

Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera (b. April 4, 1957)^[2] is a fugitive Mexican drug lord who heads the world's largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization, the Sinaloa Cartel,^[5] an organization named after the Mexican Pacific coast state of Sinaloa where it was initially formed. Known as "El Chapo Guzmán" ("Shorty Guzmán") for his 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) stature, he became Mexico's top drug kingpin in 2003 after the arrest of his rival Osiel Cárdenas of the Gulf Cartel, and is now considered "The most powerful drug trafficker in the world," by the United States Department of the Treasury.^[6][7]

Guzmán Loera has been ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the most powerful people in the world every year since 2009; ranking 41st, 60th and 55th respectively.^[8][9] He was also listed by Forbes as the 10th richest man in Mexico (1,140th in the world) in 2011.^[10][11] Forbes also calls him the "biggest druglord of all time",^[12] and the DEA strongly believes he has surpassed the influence and reach of Pablo Escobar, and now considers him "the godfather of the drug world."^[13]

Guzman Loera's Sinaloa Cartel smuggles multi-ton cocaine shipments from Colombia through Mexico to the United States,^[1] and has distribution cells throughout the U.S.^[1] The organization has also been involved in the production, smuggling and distribution of Mexican methamphetamine, marijuana, and heroin. The U.S. offers a $5 million USD reward for information leading to his capture. The Mexican government offers a reward of 30 million pesos for such information.

Biography[link]

Guzmán was born on April 4, 1957 to a poor family in the rancho of La Tuna near Badiraguato, where he sold oranges as a child. He had two sisters: Armida and Bernarda; and had 4 brothers: Miguel Ángel, Aureliano, Arturo and Emilio. Little is known about Guzmán's early years. His father was supposedly a cattle rancher, as were most in the area; it is believed, however, that he also grew opium poppy.^[2][14] Guzmán's father had connections to higher-ups in the Sinaloan capital of Culiacán through Pedro Avilés Pérez. Avilés was a key player in the Sinaloa drug business, seen as a pioneer for finding new methods of transporting the rural produce to urban areas for shipment by way of airplanes. He is reportedly the first to use airplanes to smuggle cocaine to the United States. By the time Guzmán was in his 20s, his connection to Avilés would be his window of opportunity to start in the drug business and make his fortune. In the late 1970s, Héctor "El Güero" Luis Palma Salazar gave Guzmán his first big break. El Güero placed him in charge of transporting drugs from the Sierra to the cities and border and overseeing shipments. He was ambitious and pressed his bosses to increase the quantities of drugs being moved north.^[2]

In the early 1980s, Guzmán was introduced to Miguel "El Padrino" Ángel Félix Gallardo. Gallardo put him in charge of logistics – effectively coordinating airplane flights, boat arrivals and trucks coming from Colombia into Mexico. El Güero still controlled deliveries to clients in the United States, but Guzmán would soon work directly for El Padrino himself. Although early on Guzmán lived in Guadalajara, as did Gallardo, his command and control center was actually located in Agua Prieta, Sonora. After Félix Gallardo's capture, Guzmán took control of the entire Sinaloa Cartel.^[2][15] Guzmán is wanted by the governments of Mexico and the United States and by INTERPOL;^[16] so far he has evaded operations to capture him.

Methamphetamine[link]

After the fall of the Amezcua brothers, founders of the Colima Cartel, in 1998 on methamphetamine trafficking charges, there was a need for leadership throughout Mexico to coordinate methamphetamine shipments north. Guzmán saw an opportunity and seized on it.^[2] Easily arranging precursor shipments, Guzmán and Ismael Zambada García ("El Mayo") made use of their previous contacts on Mexico's Pacific coast. Importantly, for the first time the Colombians would not have to be paid – they simply joined methamphetamine with cocaine shipments. This fact meant no additional money needed to go out for planes, pilots, boats, and bribes; they used the existing infrastructure to pipeline the new product.^[2] Up until this point, the Sinaloa Cartel had been a joint venture between Guzmán and Ismael Zambada García; the methamphetamine business would be Guzmán's alone. He cultivated his own ties to China, Thailand and India to import the necessary precursor chemicals. Throughout the mountains of the states of Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisco, Michoacán and Nayarit, Guzmán constructed large methamphetamine laboratories and rapidly expanded his organization.^[2]

His habit of moving from place to place allowed him to nurture contacts throughout the country. He was now operating in 17 out of 31 Mexican states. With his business expanding, he placed his trusted friend Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel Villarreal in charge of methamphetamine production; this way Guzmán could continue being the boss of bosses. Coronel Villarreal proved so reliable in the Guzmán business, he became known as 'Crystal King'.^[17]

Arrest and escape[link]

Guzmán was captured in Guatemala on June 9, 1993^[18] and extradited to Mexico and sentenced to 20 years, 9 months in prison for drug trafficking, criminal association and bribery charges. He was jailed in the maximum security La Palma (now Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 or 'Altiplano') prison. On November 22, 1995, he was transferred to the Puente Grande maximum security prison in Jalisco, Mexico, after being convicted of three crimes: possession of firearms, drug trafficking, and the murder of Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo (the charge would later be dismissed by another judge). He had been tried and sentenced inside the federal prison on the outskirts of Almoloya de Juárez, Mexico State.^[2]

The police say Guzmán carefully masterminded his escape plan, wielding influence over almost everyone in the prison, including the facility's director. He allegedly had the prison guards on his payroll, smuggled contraband into the prison and received preferential treatment from the staff. In addition to the prison-employee accomplices, police in Jalisco were paid off to ensure he had at least 24 hours to get out of the state and stay ahead of the military manhunt. The story told to the guards being bribed was that Joaquín Guzmán was smuggling gold out of the prison, ostensibly extracted from rock at the inmate workshop. The escape allegedly cost Joaquín $2.5 million.^[2][19]

After a ruling by the Supreme Court of Mexico made it easier for extradition to occur between Mexico and the United States, Guzmán bribed several guards to aid his escape. On January 19, 2001, Francisco "El Chito" Camberos Rivera, a prison guard, opened Guzman's electronically operated cell door, where Guzmán got in a laundry cart that Camberos rolled through several doors and eventually out the front door. Guzmán was then transported in the trunk of a car driven by Camberos out of the town. At a gas station Camberos went inside, but when he came back Guzmán was gone on foot into the night. According to officials, seventy-eight people have been implicated in his escape plan.^[2]

Mexican Cartel Wars[link]

Since his escape from prison, he had been wanting to take over the Ciudad Juárez crossing points, which are under control of the Carrillo Fuentes family of the Juárez Cartel.^[2] Despite high mistrust between the two organizations, the Sinaloa and Juárez cartels had an alliance at the time. He convened a meeting in Monterrey with Ismael Zambada Garcia ("El Mayo"), Juan José Esparragoza Moreno ("El Azul") and one of the Beltrán Leyva brothers and they discussed killing Rodolfo Carrillo Fuentes, who was in charge of the Juárez Cartel. On September 11, 2004, Rodolfo, his wife, and two young children were visiting a Culiacán shopping mall. While leaving the mall, escorted by police commander Pedro Pérez López, the family was ambushed by members of Los Negros, assassins for the Sinaloa Cartel. Rodolfo and his wife were killed, the policeman survived.^[2]

This now meant the plaza would no longer be controlled only by the Carrillo Fuentes family. Instead, the city found itself the front line in a country-wide drug war and would see homicides skyrocket as rival cartels fought for control. With this act, Guzmán was the first to break the nonaggression 'pact' the major cartels had agreed to, setting in motion the fighting between cartels for drug routes that has claimed more than 50,000 lives since December 2006.^[20][21][22]

Break with the Beltrán Leyva Cartel[link]

Flores brothers, leaders of a lucrative cell in Chicago

Several factors influenced the break between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltrán Leyva brothers. The arrest of Guzmán's lieutenant, Alfredo Beltrán Leyva (a.k.a.: El Mochomo) in January 2008 was one incident, as Guzmán was believed to have given up El Mochomo for various reasons.^[23] In addition to this, Guzmán had been voicing concerns with Alfredo Beltrán's lifestyle and high-profile actions for some time before his arrest. The Beltrán Leyva brothers ordered the assassination of Guzmán's son, Édgar Guzmán Lopez, on May 8, 2008 in Culiacán; causing massive retaliation from Guzmán. They were also fighting over the allegiance of the Flores brothers, Margarito and Pedro, leaders of a major, highly lucrative cell in Chicago that distributed over two tons of cocaine every month.^[24] The Mexican military claim that Guzmán and the Beltrán Leyva brothers were at odds over Guzmán's relationship with the Valencia brothers in Michoacán.^[2]

Upon Alfredo Beltrán's arrest – purportedly with Guzmán's help – a formal "war" was declared. An attempt on Vicente "El Vincentillo" Zambada Niebla's life was made just hours after the declaration. Dozens of killings followed in retaliation for the attempt on his life.^[2] On May 8, 2008, with the killing of Guzmán's son Edgar, it all erupted. For the rest of May 2008 alone, there were over 116 people murdered in Culiacán, 26 of whom were policemen. In June 2008, over 128 were killed; in July, 143 were slain.^[2] General Sandoval ordered another 2,000 troops to the area, but it failed to stop the war. The wave of violence spread to other cities like Guamúchil, Guasave and Mazatlán.

Whether Guzmán was responsible for Alfredo Beltrán's arrest is not known. However, the Beltrán Leyva brothers were doing some double-dealing of their own. Arturo Beltrán and Alfredo Beltrán had met with top members of Los Zetas in Cuernavaca. There they agreed to form an alliance to fill the power vacuum.^[2] They wouldn't necessarily go after the main strongholds, such as the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartel; instead they sought control of southern states like Guerrero (where the Beltrán Leyva's already had a big stake), Oaxaca, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo. They also worked their way into the center of the country, where no single group had control.^[2]

The split was officially recognized by the U.S. government on May 30, 2008. On that day they recognized the Beltrán Leyva brothers as leaders of their own 'cartel'. President Bush designated Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva and the Beltrán Leyva Organization as subject to sanction under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act ("Kingpin Act").^[2][25]

Public appearances[link]

Nuevo Laredo appearance

In 2005 on a Saturday evening, Guzmán reportedly strolled into a restaurant in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas with several of his bodyguards. After taking his seat, his henchmen locked the doors of the restaurant, collected the cell phones of approximately thirty diners and instructed them to not be alarmed.^[26] The gangsters then ate their meal and left – paying for everyone else in the restaurant.^[27]

Culiacán appearance

Later that year, Guzmán was reportedly seen in Culiacán, Sinaloa, repeating his exploit at a restaurant.^[28] According to a witness, in November 2005 Guzmán entered the restaurant in Culiacán with fifteen of his bodyguards, all of them carrying AK-47s.^[29] The restaurant was known as 'Las Palmas,' a lime-green eatery with an ersatz tile roof on a busy street.^[30] A man in the restaurant told those present the following:

"Gentlemen, please. Give me a moment of your time. A man is going to come in, the boss. We will ask you to remain in your seats; the doors will be closed and nobody is allowed to leave. You will also not be allowed to use your cellulars. Do not worry; if you do everything that is asked of you, nothing will happen. Continue eating and don't ask for your check. The boss will pay. Thank you."^[29]

The diners reportedly sat still and frightened, as El Chapo walked in through the front door of the restaurant. He walked among the tables, greeting each person there. "Hello, nice to meet you. How are you? I'm Joaquín Guzmán Loera. A pleasure. At your service," he said to all of the diners, as he shook their hands.^[29] El Chapo then walked to a private salon inside the restaurant, where he ate the house specialties of "beef and and fist-size shrimp." After a couple of hours, the meal ended, and Guzmán fled the scene; his gunmen left moments later.^[29] Los Angeles Times reported on this same incident in an article published on November 3, 2008.^[30] The newspaper, however, quoted that whether any of his reported exploits actually happened is irrelevant, because these stories of Guzmán's elusiveness have created a mythology around his image, where he is claimed to be "everywhere, and nowhere" at the same time.^[30]

Other appearances

According to Milenio news, witnesses have declared to have seen Guzmán-Loera in a restaurant in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo; visting a beach in San Blas, Nayarit; visting a house he allegedly owns in San Pancho, Guanajuato; hiding in the mountains of Durango; eating at a restaurant and paying for customers in Ciudad Juárez; in his hideout in Michoacán; traveling through Monterrey; and attending the party of a famous businessman in Torreón.^[31]

Raids[link]

In the ensuing manhunt, authorities arrested many of Guzmán's associates in the cities of Reynosa, Puebla, Toluca, and Mexico City. The states of Sinaloa and Nayarit would also see a wave of arrests. In the summer of that year, Esteban Quintero Mariscal, a hired killer and cousin of Guzmán's, was arrested and imprisoned in Cefereso No. 1, Mexico's highest-security prison. The following day, El Chito, the prison guard most responsible for helping Guzmán escape, was captured and incarcerated in Mexico City's Reclusorio Preventivo Oriente. On September 7, 2001, authorities raided a stash house in the eastern Mexico City neighborhood of Iztapalapa. Federal agents chased three people fleeing the house all the way to Taxquena in the southern part of the city. Among those arrested was Arturo "El Pollo" Guzman Loera, Guzmán's younger brother. Guzmán reportedly considered suicide following his arrest. Authorities were led to Arturo by information from Quintero Mariscal.^[2]

In November 2001, military intelligence pinpointed Guzmán's location to somewhere between the cities of Puebla and Cuernavaca, where they captured Miguel Angel Trillo Hernandez. Trillo had helped Guzmán in the aftermath of his escape from Puente Grande, renting houses so Guzmán could hide in them. They next discovered Guzmán was hiding out on a ranch outside Sante Fe, Nayarit. Mexican military deployed helicopters to close in, but Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada provided his own helicopter to Guzmán to escape in to the Sierra.^[2]

Despite the progress made in detaining others in the aftermath of Guzmán's escape, arresting a handful of his top logistics and security men, the huge military and federal police manhunt failed to capture Guzmán himself. Since his escape, he has been Mexico's most wanted man.

On December 20, 2005 the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced a US $5 million reward for information leading to Guzmán's arrest and prosecution.^[3][32]

In March 2008, the Guatemalan government reported that Guzmán's organization may have been tied to a gun battle in their country that left ten gunmen dead. Three days later, the Honduran government reported that they were investigating whether he was hiding out in Honduras.^[33]

On April 18, 2009 in the state of Durango, Roman Catholic Archbishop Héctor Gonzalez announced that the fugitive drug trafficker was "living nearby and everyone knows it except the authorities, who just don't happen to see him for some reason." A few days afterwards, two military officers were found dead near a bullet-riddled car in the same area the archbishop claimed Guzmán lived. It is believed that the officers, who were dressed in civilian clothes, were working undercover in the area when they were abducted and executed in the remote village of Cienega de Escobar. A message was left near them: “You'll never get 'El Chapo', not the priests, not the government."

Reports by Milenio Television mention that Guzmán Loera is protected at all times by a personal mercenary army composed of over 30 armed men, all of them in military uniform, whose only objective is to prevent his capture and death from the Mexican forces.^[34]

The Mexican authorities "nearly nabbed" Guzmán Loera in a coastal mansion in Los Cabos on February 19, 2012, just a day after Hillary Clinton met with foreign ministers in the same peninsula resort town.^[35][36] The details of how the authorities knew he was there and why El Chapo was not caught have not been released.^[37]

Implications of Guzmán's hypothetical arrest[link]

According to Los Angeles Times, if Guzmán Loera is arrested by the Mexican authorities before the Mexican general elections of 2012, his capture may serve as a "sweet trophy" for Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico, and for PAN candidate for the presidency, Josefina Vazquez Mota.^[38] His apprehension would mark the "biggest blow against drug cartels" since Calderón launched a military-led offensive against the criminal groups in Mexico on 2006.^[38] Analysts say it may also "squelch whispers" that the Mexican government had gone easy on the Sinaloa Cartel and on El Chapo while attacking its rival groups.^[38] On the other hand, his capture right before the presidential elections may also trigger theories by skeptics that El Chapo had long been in the government's hands, "but kept on ice until a politically propitious moment."^[38]

Edgardo Buscaglia, a professor at the ITAM, believes that Guzmán's capture may also help Barack Obama's reelection campaign, since there have been suspicions that his government "provided protection" to the Sinaloa Cartel.^[39] Eric Olson, from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, considers that Guzmán's capture may "unleash a bloody wave of violence" between the Sinaloa Cartel leaders and its subgroups for the control of the organization.^[40] His capture may also unleash the fury of the Sinaloa cartel and create new criminal organizations.^[40]

Family[link]

In 1977 he married Alejandrina María Salazar Hernández, in a small ceremony in the town of Jesús María, Sinaloa. With Alejandrina Guzmán he had three children: César, Iván Archivaldo, and Jesús Alfredo. He set them up in a ranch home in Jesús María. In the mid-1980s Guzmán remarried; this time to Griselda López Pérez, with whom he had four more children: Édgar, Joaquín, Ovidio, and Griselda Guadalupe.^[2] Guzmán's sons would follow him into the drug business. On February 15, 2005, Guzmán's son, Iván Archivaldo, was arrested in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico.^[41] He was sentenced to 5 years in a federal prison, but was released in April 2008 after a Mexican federal judge declared the case was lacking evidence. In June 2005, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested his brother, two nephews and a niece. They also seized nine houses and six vehicles. Some of the arrests took place in U.S. cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland.

In November 2007, Guzmán was married to 18 year-old beauty queen Emma Coronel Aispuro in Canelas, Durango.^[42][43] In August 2011, Coronel Aispuro, a citizen of the United States, gave birth to twin girls in a L.A. County Hospital.^[44] On May 2012, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against his sons Iván Guzmán Salazar and Ovidio Guzmán López under the Kingpin Act, which prohibits people in the U.S. from conducting businesses with them and freezes their U.S. assets.^[45]

See also[link]

	Mexico portal
	Biography portal

• Sinaloa Cartel
• Beltrán-Leyva Cartel
• Ismael Zambada Garcia
• Pablo Escobar
• Mérida Initiative
• Mexican Drug War
• The World's 10 Most Wanted
• List of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords

References[link]

External links[link]

• [1] Biography and history of the hunt for El Chapo Guzmán, "The Last Narco," by Malcolm Beith (September 2010)
• Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán-Loera on America's Most Wanted
• Mug shot and bios