The Mexican army says it has arrested a key player in the Sinaloa drug cartel in the northern city of Culiacán.
José Ángel Canobbio, also known as “El Güerito” (little blond one), is accused of being the right hand man of Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, one of the sons of infamous jailed drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Mexican security forces say the arrest of Canobbio, who they say was in charge of security for Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, is a severe blow to the Sinaloa cartel.
He was captured just hours after the United States added the Sinaloa cartel to its list of foreign terrorist organisations (FTOs), a move which the Trump Administration says will allow it to better combat the criminal groups.
As well as the Sinaloa cartel, the US state department designated seven other Latin American crime groups as FTOs. They are:
- Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG)
- Gulf cartel
- Northeast cartel
- United cartel
- New Michoacán Family
- Tren de Aragua
- MS-13
All but the last two groups are based in Mexico and the Mexican government has come under huge pressure by the Trump Administration to step up its fight against them and the trafficking of the synthetic drug fentanyl they engage in.
Read more about how fentanyl gets into the US
Earlier this month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum managed to convince her US counterpart to hold off imposing a 25% duty on Mexican imports to the US for a month.
Mexican security forces will hope that the arrest of Canobbio – who was indicted in absentia by a federal grand jury in Chicago in November for allegedly smuggling fentanyl into the US – will go some way towards showing their commitment to the fight against drug trafficking.
The indictment accuses Canobbio of being the principal advisor, lieutenant and security chief for Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, one of the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán who took over the running of the Sinaloa cartel after their father was jailed.
According to security expert David Saucedo, Canobbio has played a key role in getting the Sinaloa cartel involved in the smuggling of fentanyl to the US.
Mr Saucedo told Mexico’s Radio Formula, that he expected him to be quickly extradited to the US.
