This Was The ‘help’ That ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Took Advantage Of To Surpass The Juárez Cartel In Drug Trafficking.

Mica for cartelinsider.com

During the first decade of the 2000s, just after his first escape, Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán took advantage of a series of movements for the Sinaloa Cartel to position itself as the main drug trafficking organization over the Juárez Cartel.

A 2017 investigation published by The Daily Beast reported that between 2007 and 2010, various leaders working for ‘El Chapo’ became informants for the United States government, but used the privileges of this role to continue their criminal activities.

Among the examples cited by the media is the case of Fernando Ontiveros Arámbula, a high-ranking lieutenant in the Sinaloa Cartel whose value to the authorities lay in his proximity to ‘El Chapo’. During his trial, Arámbula was described as a spokesperson who provided high-value information to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

An agent from this institution, identified as Louie Gomez, explained that Arámbula was the most well-connected trafficker they had come in contact with. As evidence, he pointed out that in 2007, Arámbula’s cooperation led to the location of Pedro Sánchez Arras, also known as ‘El Tigre’ or ‘El Sol’, the main lieutenant of the Juárez Cartel.

However, while cooperating with American agencies, Arambula worked as a prominent operations coordinator for the Sinaloa Cartel from a ranch in the municipality of Ascension, Chihuahua.

“Arámbula also had an office in Juarez where a dozen employees used hydraulic presses to package marijuana into blocks,” the investigation states.

Presumably, ‘El Chapo’ and the high leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel took advantage of the US’s willingness to receive informants and used it as a strategy to decrease the activities of their rivals.

Another leader of the CDS who met repeatedly with ICE investigators was Mario Núñez Meza, alias ‘M10’, accused of being responsible for almost 400 murders. According to the investigation, it was between 2007 and 2008 that this individual entered the neighboring country several times to provide information.

In the face of accusations of alleged involvement in favor of ‘El Chapo’, agent Gomez testified during the trial of Arambula – who was sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2010 – that collaborators began contacting ICE just as investigations against the Juarez Cartel were underway, although the agency had both criminal groups in its sights.

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Mica

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