HomeNewsBriefEl Chapo's Escape Puts Latin America on Alert
BRIEF

El Chapo's Escape Puts Latin America on Alert

EL CHAPO / 16 JUL 2015 BY ARRON DAUGHERTY EN

Multiple governments across Latin America have announced security measures in response to the escape of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, indicative of the Sinaloa Cartel's broad reach in the region.

El Chapo escaped from a federal prison for the second time in his criminal career on July 11. His recapture in 2014 was a milestone for Mexican authorities, making his recent getaway all the more embarrassing

The Mexican government has since doubled the bounty on Chapo's head, fired the head of police intelligence, and promised to identify the prison officials involved in the scheme. Meanwhile, international law enforcement organization Interpol issued a red notice for the Sinaloa Cartel leader. 

Given the extent to which the Sinaloa Cartel runs drug trafficking operations abroad -- which includes a reported presence in Australia and Asia -- other Latin American nations have reacted strongly to Chapo's escape. Guatemalan authorities announced they were reinforcing security along their borders to ensure that Chapo does not take refuge in the country. Honduras committed to a more intense monitoring of private flights crossing their airspace, while El Salvador's police also asserted they had increased vigilance over their frontiers and points of entry.   

SEE ALSO: Coverage of El Chapo

South American nations have issued similar responses. Colombia's anti-narcotics head Ricardo Restrepo Londoño told local media that authorities are looking out for increased activity between Mexican and Colombian drug traffickers. Meanwhile, Ecuador's Attorney General's Office confirmed that they have opened an investigation into three companies linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and blacklisted by the US Treasury Department. 

InSight Crime Analysis

El Chapo and the Sinaloa Cartel have extensive contacts and resources outside of Mexico, meaning there is a distinct possibility the drug lord may flee abroad. Notably, prior to his first imprisonment, El Chapo fled to Guatemala, where he was captured and extradited to Mexico in 1993.

SEE ALSO: Sinaloa Cartel News and Profile

Nevertheless, staying in Mexico may give El Chapo a greater advantage, as he may have better luck corrupting local authorities in what has long been his principle homebase. 

Latin American nations are doubtlessly hyper-aware of the embarrassment that El Chapo's escape has inflicted on Mexico, and will not want to risk being made to look like fools themselves. But while hunting for a top drug lord makes for good headlines, there are other ways that security agencies across the region can more effectively take action against El Chapo: dismantling the local criminal networks that aid the Sinaloa Cartel. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ARGENTINA / 5 JUL 2022

Why did drug trafficking enjoy such a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic…

HUMAN RIGHTS / 30 AUG 2023

Human trafficking is one of the most complex and misunderstood criminal economies in the world. This is especially true along…

GENDER AND CRIME / 21 SEP 2022

Accused drug trafficker Sandra Ávila Beltrán is demanding she be paid royalties for the “Queen of the South” Netflix series.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…