COLUMNS

'El Chapo' Is Done, But Mexico's Cartel Wars Certainly Aren’t

undefined and VP of Tactical Analysis
Scott Stewart
VP of Tactical Analysis, Stratfor

Jul 23, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka "el Chapo Guzman" (C), is presented to the press on Feb. 22, 2014 in Mexico City.

Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman Loera aka "el Chapo Guzman" (C), is escorted by marines as he is presented to the press on February 22, 2014 in Mexico City. The Sinaloa cartel leader - the most wanted by US and Mexican anti-drug agencies - was arrested early this morning by Mexican marines at a resort in Mazatlan, northern Mexico. (RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)

(RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Now that he has been incarcerated for life at the ADX supermax in Colorado, the criminal career of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera is officially over.
  • The larger forces shaping organized crime in Mexico will continue to overshadow the role of even the most powerful organized crime bosses, like Guzman.
  • Due to the huge amounts of money involved in the international drug trade, violence will continue to beset Mexico.
  • As a result, companies operating in Mexico will continue to contend with demands for bribes, the risk of becoming collateral damage, extortion and other threats.

And so the curtain falls on the career of a criminal mastermind. On July 17, Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera was sentenced to serve life plus 30 years in prison following a February conviction on 10 counts, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking and firearms charges. Shortly after the sentencing hearing, Guzman was sent to the U.S. administrative maximum (ADX) penitentiary in Florence, Colorado. Guzman has a long history of shenanigans in -- and escapes from -- Mexican penitentiaries, but the book is now officially closed on him. Guzman has never been incarcerated in a facility like the ADX in Florence, which is home to some of the most dangerous criminals and terrorists in the world, meaning he has zero chance of either continuing to run his criminal enterprise from the prison or escaping from it. The end to Guzman's illicit activities, however, does...

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