US Indicts 24 Claimed Leaders of Mexican Sinaloa Drug Cartel, Offers $5M Reward to Get 'Shorty'
In a grand jury indictment filed earlier this month in federal court in El Paso, Texas, the United States is pursuing 24 claimed leaders of a Mexican drug cartel that allegedly resorts to extreme violence, including torture and killing of its enemies and their families, while trafficking tons of narcotics into the United States.
Federal authorities in the U.S. are offering a $5 million reward for the information leading to the arrest of the man they say is the top boss of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. He is known as “El Chapo,” the Spanish for “Shorty,” Reuters reports.
The indictment accuses the group of resorting to murder, money laundering and racketeering while pursuing their alleged drug trade.
“Often, the murders involve extreme violence and a public display of the victim, including mutilation and dismemberment of body parts in some ritualistic or symbolic fashion and the display of banners bearing written warnings,” the indictment states.
None of the 24 indicted individuals is in custody.
Guzman has been previously indicted in other states and is considered Mexico’s most-wanted fugitive. His whereabouts have been unknown since he escaped in 2001 from a Mexican prison, according to CNN International and the El Paso Times.
Additional and related coverage:
ABAJournal.com (Aug. 2009): “Lawyer for Suspected Drug Kingpins Is Murdered; 2nd Such Killing in 1 Month”
ABAJournal.com (Oct. 2009): “AG Says 303 Arrested in 19-State Raid of Most Violent Mexican Drug Cartel”
ABAJournal.com (Jan. 2011): “Given Choice of ‘Silver or Lead,’ Lawyer Serving as Mayor of Mexican City, Like Many Others, Is Dead”
Houston Chronicle: “Did Mexico’s most wanted man order a Texan kidnapped?”
