Here is an excerpt from Ken Ellingwood and Richard Marosi's article in the L.A. Times:
"In a significant blow against the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, Mexican troops on Thursday killed one of the group's top figures during an arrest raid in western Mexico... Ignacio Coronel Villarreal
is described as one of the three most important bosses in the cartel, which is based in Sinaloa state and run by the country's most-wanted drug suspect, Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman. Coronel, known as "Nacho" and in his mid-50s, was highly sought by U.S. and Mexican authorities. Authorities said Coronel headed the group's operations in the western states of Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco, where troops tracked him down Thursday. U.S. officials have described him as a pioneer in making large quantities of methamphetamine to be smuggled into the United States. Army officials said Coronel was slain after opening fire on troops closing in on him in an upscale, tree-lined suburb of Guadalajara, long considered a haven for drug bosses. Coronel kept two residences that he used as safe houses and maintained a low profile, the army said... Though for years a close associate of Guzman, Coronel was considered by U.S. and Mexican authorities a potent trafficker in his own right, with direct access to cocaine supplies in Colombia." Link to Full Article
Analysis: This is a very significant piece of news coming out of Mexico, equivalent to the killing of Arturo Beltrán Leyva earlier this year, in my opinion. Just three things I want to comment on here.
First, the eternal question of organizational succession. Coronel was truly a top dog in the Sinaloa Federation, third in line after Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia. I don't know how much of a hands-on trafficker he was, or if he did a lot of delegating. His immediate subordinate and meth-maker extraordinaire is Salvador Antonio Damián López, so perhaps he'll get promoted to fill in for El Nacho. Guzmán also has Juan Jose "El Azúl" Esparragoza Moreno working for him at a level roughly equivalent to Coronel's, so he may see an increased role in the organization. Esparragoza, by the way, is said to have had a role in the murder of DEA agent Kiki Camarena in 1985.
Second, several drug war observers and Calderón critics have accused his administration of being soft on the Federation, and even being in direct and knowing cahoots with Guzmán and his folks. I'm curious what those critics have to say now, as killing Coronel isn't exactly the best way for Calderón or the Mexican army to cozy up to Guzmán. I've been on the fence about those allegations because in this war, anything is truly possible. However, I've tried to remain optimistic that the heavier casualties and arrests of members of other DTOs have merely been a strategic decision. Hopefully Coronel's demise has no ulterior motives behind it, other than a sincere desire to go after all the DTOs and their kingpins equally.
Third, and mostly as an aside, the US Consulate in Ciudad Juárez sent out a warden message announcing they would be closed today for a "security review." I don't know for sure if the closure is related at all to Coronel's death. One of my colleagues tells me that is part of it, as is a 15-day window for the next car bombing in Juárez. Coronel was killed a decent ways away from Juárez, and technically he lived and did most of his work in western Mexico. However, the Federation has been battling with the VCFO in Juárez for some time, so it would follow that the State Department would have some concerns over a possible flare-up in violence there.
So, once again, the only constant in Mexico these days is change. We'll see over the next few days how the Federation responds organizationally to Coronel's death, and what form retribution against the Mexican army and government in general will take.
Coronel’s business had been severely affected by the Federation’s new alliance with La Familia and the CDG. Specifically, La Familia’s methamphetamine manufacturing and trafficking was impeding on Coronel’s meth business. I’m not convinced this was enough of a problem for El Chapo to “give up” Coronel, as Coronel had almost as much gravitas and political sway as El Chapo and El Mayo have among their organization, and easily could have negotiated the problem. Ostensibly, Chapo would have been more than willing to placate Nacho’s demands, considering lack of negotiations with capos have historically negatively impacted Sinaloa, such is the case with Los Beltranes.
So What did happen? I think it would be incorrect to view the death of Coronel as a consequence of the Federation’s new alliance, but rather as a consequence of a series of events which unfolded after the alliance was created. Lest we forget that there were substantial rumors that Coronel was taken into custody some time ago, along with Chapo’s wife. There were even rumors suggesting his incarceration was some how tied with Diego’s disappearance. Furthermore, JT’s sobrino, Mini-seis, was killed in Guadalajara right after he met up with Coronel. Since the government has been forced to make some hard decisions in order to deal with some of the Juarez Cartel’s threats (Car bombing if the government failed to act against Sinaloa); the Mexican government was forced to go after a Capo from Sinaloa. El Chapo did not actively “give up” or dictate the death of Coronel, but just came to the realization that someone had to go, and why not a capo that has consistently been plagued by circumstances which some in their organization found questionable? Catholics may call this a sin of omission.
The Best,
D
Posted by: D | July 30, 2010 at 08:50 PM
One question here that may be a bit off topic but you do make reference to it. . .. Why was the death of Kiki Camarena such a watershed event? I see reference to it over and over again (even 20+ years on!) such that I understand it had an enormous impact. But, why?
Posted by: Beltonwall | July 31, 2010 at 01:57 AM
I an not any sort of conspiracy theorist, but the circumstances of Nacho's death are very suspicious. First, it had been rumored that Nacho had been captured a few months ago. More specifically the Mexican press asked the Mx. gov. if Nacho's arrest was true and the Mx. gov. either said no comment or neither confirmed the arrest or denied it. I find the Mx gov. reactions to the arrest rumor very interesting. Why did they not just deny the arrest took place like they have done for so many other false rumors of alleged drug bosses arrested? For weeks the MX gov. kept silent on the alleged arrest of Nacho. Why?
Another issue is apparently Nacho was the only one killed in this raid. I find this odd especially when the gov says his security chief was arrested and another 10 body guards were also arrested. Usually in a fire fight there are more than just one casualty. Are we supposed to believe that Nacho alone fired upon this huge contingent of Mexican special forces and if so the special forces aim was so good that Nacho was the only person hit and killed in this raid. For a comparison look at the raid on Arturo Beltran Leyva. Along with his death all of his body guards were also killed in the shoot out. There can be other comparisons of drug lords killed in shootouts. Pablo Escobar was killed, but his lone body guard was also killed. I just find it beyond credible that only Nacho would have been hit and killed by gunfire.
Another thing that bothers me is why not the usual death scene photos and videos shot by the gov. or shot by the media with the gov. permission. The MX gov and military love to do this in order to show off their victory and in a sick way like a big game hunter posing over the kills, plus these videos and pictures are used as proof that their intended target is dead. None of these photos or videos have pooped up in the media as of yet. No videos or photos of Nacho's corpse at the scene or at the medical examiers office currenlty exist. Why is this so when the MX gov's habit to parade the deaths or arrests of drug cartel figures in public is still very alive today throughout Mexico.
Yes, they will establish the dead man's identity through DNA and fingerprints, but that will only be to prove that Nacho is dead, but not when he died.
More proof is the war that broke out in the territories that Nacho controlled after his alleged arrest took place. If he was not arrested that fateful day a few months back, then there was no real resosn for war to break out in such a large magnitude. Yes the BLO and Zetas were fighting him for his area, but not on the scale of what was seen after Nacho's alleged arrest. The war that started and the large scale of it started a few months back is the kind of war that takes place when a top leader is killed or arrested.
I am not questioning Nacho's death, but I am questioning when, where, and how he actually died and what part did the MX gov. play in his death.
In this case there are just too many things that do not add up. I think it is very plausible Nacho was arrested months ago, it was kept from the public, and he probably died during interrogation/torture. Until there is a definite autopsy with time of death, cause of death and or pictures of his actual body will this be resolved, but do not look for this to happen.
Posted by: joe | July 31, 2010 at 03:37 AM
Joe ... good comments. You've raised a very good point - where are the collateral casualties when they took down Coronel??
Sylvia - many people have speculated that Calderon's government has been sympathetic to the Sinaloa Cartel (I have said that myself). Some observers have even wondered if the Mex Government was actually using a "most favored cartel" approach to limit violence within their country. But the death of Coronel seems to contradict this, and it is a major victory for Calderon ... if we can accept things at face value.
Let's suppose that the death of Coronel is both real and significant (i.e. it happened without any backstabbing by Guzman in his own cartel). What would that mean? It seems to me that it sends a strong signal that any capo can be eventually located and killed in Mexico.
And if that's true, then some serious responses might be expected from the cartels:
(1) Drug Cartels may become much more active in trying to oust Calderon and his party from power in Mexico
(2) The top capo's might try to hit back directly at Calderon and the special Mexican navy units who are doing these operations
(3) The capo's may change their bases of operation and switch to running the drug trade from outside Mexico. For example, they may relocate to Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador - in regions where police presence is essentially non-existent.
Posted by: P | August 02, 2010 at 03:53 PM
Why don't we accept also that the Mexican Army and Federal Police have both grown in intelligence and professionalism and are now taking down, one by one, the most powerful druglords in the country.
Posted by: Jose Angel de Monterrey | August 08, 2010 at 03:30 AM
To answer one of Joe's questions. There is a video and pictures of a dead Nacho Coronel on BlogDelNarco.com So that lays the rest the theory that he is still alive. I still believe that president Calderon still favors one cartel, the Sinaloa cartel. I believe that Nacho Coronel was sacrificed to the Calderon to show everyone that the Sinaloa cartel is not favored by the government. There is speculation that Coronel was getting too powerful within the cartel itself, therefore El Chapo Guzman decided to get rid of him, by sacrificing him. Remember he still has Juan Jose "El Azúl" Esparragoza Moreno. El Chapo can just send him now to replace Coronel. Juan Jose "El Azúl" Esparragoza Moreno knows the drug business enough that he can just continue were Coronel left off.
Posted by: Unknown | August 28, 2010 at 05:48 PM