In an interview with Infobae México, the journalist spoke about the power that the criminal organization still holds and how the authorities could affect it.
With the capture in the United States of Ismael El Mayo Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, some specialists have pointed out changes in the organized crime landscape, as both individuals are accused of leading different factions of the Sinaloa Cartel.
In an interview with Infobae México, journalist José Reveles spoke about the group’s capacity even after the capture of the two mentioned men. The Sinaloa Cartel, also known as the Pacific Cartel, has a presence in much of the country.
Information from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicates that this criminal group has connections even in other countries.
The Sinaloa Cartel “will continue to have strength, maybe a little less than Jalisco New Generation, but that’s all that will happen. It will continue worldwide. Not because of this fall of Mayo [Zambada] will it withdraw from Asia or Africa. No, not at all. Business is business, and they will continue to exploit the weakness of addicts worldwide, particularly in the United States.”
Reveles adds that fentanyl has brought many profits to the criminal organization because its manufacturing process is cheap. According to the specialist in topics such as drug trafficking, corruption, and violence, the impacts on criminal groups should come through blows to their financial structure and not only focus on drug trafficking.
The economic power of criminal organizations is reflected in their ability to obtain weapons, armored vehicles, and people they use as hitmen. This translates into their ability to control territories.
“If the government wants to attack what remains, little, much important or irrelevant of the Sinaloa Cartel, it must attack its finances, attack its economic power. With that, you weaken any criminal group,” emphasizes Reveles.
“We are in a golden age with fentanyl because fentanyl is very cheap to produce, very cheap. The cost has dropped three times. A pill now costs 45 or 50 cents and is still a great business.”
**It is not the end of the Sinaloa Cartel**
When asked if the arrest in the United States of Ismael Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López represents the end of the Sinaloa Cartel, José Reveles says that is not the case.
“What it can do is change, even its name, it has already changed. Now there are no historical leaders. But that does not mean that without historical leaders, there are no leaders at other levels […] and it is not headless and will not be headless. I believe it will renew itself because we are talking about a global business on all continents, which would be very difficult for someone to abandon.”
It is worth remembering that in a different interview with this editorial house, journalist Jesús Lemus assured that the arrest of Mayo Zambada would represent the end of the criminal group and also argued that the Sinaloa Cartel, historically, has not reorganized from cases like the breakup with the Beltrán Leyva. “The Sinaloa Cartel practically went with El Mayo, there is no way to consider that it exists anymore. […] Whenever there have been factions, whenever there have been breakups within the Sinaloa Cartel, they have been irreparable; they have broken and never been repaired again,” said Lemus.
For now, Ismael Zambada seeks not to be taken from Texas to Brooklyn, New York, in the court where the trial against Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán and Genaro García Luna was held.
Source: Infobae
