«We wonder how the economy will dawn,» said my uncle in Nuevo Leon after of the capture of «El Chapo». There is another point of view about the figure of the capo of Culiacán. It is known, as an open secret, that, to consolidate his empire in the so-called «Golden Triangle», the former crime-king created the necessary infrastructure to consolidate an efficient trade route.
In the specific case of the town of Badiraguato, the birthplace of the criminal, the tenants talk about a face of «el Chapo» as an entrepreneur who provided employment and wealth to the villagers.
Beyond the consequences of the loss of illegal income, Mexico will face a war between cartels. Now, there is a politic vacuum and something that is known in politics and organized crime is that power gaps are quickly filled.
Inside the Sinaloa cartel there are 8 possible successors of «El Chapo», leaders who control the plazas of the cartel in the Mexican territory.
Possible successors were identified by the United States government. Figures some kingpins:
• Ismael «el Mayo» Zambada, who has the possibility of being rather a symbolic or indirect leader
• “Los Chapitos”, children of “El Chapo”, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar. They are the direct successors of the former leader. According to the testimony of a DEA agent, they have been involved in wars against other cartels, so they already have experience in the fighting.
• Aureliano Guzman Loera «el Guano», brother of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, as a collaborator close to «El Chapo», who operate in the «Golden Triangle».
• Juan Jose Esparragoza «el Negro», who was escaped from a Sinaloa prison since 2017.
• Rafael Caro-Quintero, the specialists say that he has his own organization, but the DEA also identifies him as a possible successor.
Since Dámaso López Nuñez «el Licenciado», the successor designated by “el Chapo” himself, was captured the vacancy is still waiting to be supplanted.
The Sinaloa cartel competes with 8 other cartels: Jalisco Nueva Generación, de Tijuana, de Juárez, La Familia Michoacana, Los Zetas, de Los Beltrán Leyva, del Golfo and Los Caballeros Templarios.
The government of the United States discovered that the Sinaloa cartel has an extensive traffic network covering 4 continents, 20 states of Mexico, 31 of the United States, 11 countries of Latin America and different parts of Europe, Asia and Oceania.
