Expert: Peña Nieto Was Never Interested in Arresting El Chapo

Mexican journalist and author Anabel Hernandez said that President Enrique Peña Nieto never really had interest in arresting the world’s number one drug criminal Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, but ultimately the government felt forced to recapture him to avoid being linked to organized crime and on Friday a government source said they would will seek his extradition to the United States.

“The recapture of ”El Chapo” Guzman was something that the Mexican government had to do to avoid being involved with drug trafficking, so President Enrique Peña Nieto has nothing to celebrate, in fact he was never interested in capture El Chapo, during the first two years of his administration he walked free the streets of major cities in the country,” Hernandez told teleSUR.

Hernandez, author of “Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and their Godfathers,” said El Chapo’s extradition to the U.S. would not be easy and could take months as the drug lord’s lawyers have requested a court injunction against the measure six time and will continue to take all available resources to delay Guzman being sent to the United States. 

“It’s not that easy, the U.S. government has previously asked the extradition of El Chapo, but he faces multiple charges in Mexico and has the possibility of avoid being sent to a U.S. through legal means,” Hernandez said, adding that all depends also in the negotiations that the powerful criminal will conduct with the government of Peña Nieto. 

“He can even negotiate and join the United States Federal Witness Protection Program and only pay a minimum sentence,” she added.

The U.S. formally presented the Mexican government with the extradition request for El Chapo in July and again in August. Mexico’s foreign ministry said the petitions fulfilled all the requirements and forwarded the petion to the federal Attorney General’s office of PGR who then relayed the request to judges so a warrant for El Chapo’s arrest for extradition purposes were issued in July and September of last year.

According to the journalist the decision taken by the Mexican authorities of sending El Chapo to the same maximum-security jail from which he escaped six months ago, only exposes the high levels of corruption within Peña Nieto’s administration. 

“The Altiplano prison in central Mexico is like a resort for El Chapo, he has enjoyed VIP treatment there because he basically controls the place through corruption, and nothing has changed since he escaped in July, so he has returned  to a place where he is a distinguished guest,” Hernandez said.

RELATED: Chapo Guzman's Capture Distracts from Mexico's Economic Crisis

Hernandez said El Chapo’s recapture – his second which is also his fourth arrest, as he was detained in Mexico City in 1991, but paid a police official US$100,000 to release him – was largely due to intelligence information the DEA shared with Mexican federal forces.

El Chapo is considered one of the world’s most dangerous, richest and powerful drug traffickers. The Sinaloa Cartel he leads generates annual revenues greater the US$3 billion according to the U.S. drug enforcement agents.

Latest footage: El Chapo has been recaptured by Mexican forces, the DEA and US marshals pic.twitter.com/ZmKom5CasT

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) enero 8, 2016