Can this be true?

“Chapo” Guzmán taken alive… right here in Mazatlán?

It’s an open secret that he’s often in town, though I don’t think we’ve ever had him as a customer (don’t believe he reads English, anyway).  He’s a major employer and investor here, after all.  If this is him (and El Debate cautiously labels this photo “the person detained in Mazatlán”), and he stays alive, it’s going to be interesting to hear what he has to say.  And the effect on the local economy is going to be tremendous.  To say nothing of our way of life.

I don’t know anything about this (why didn’t someone tell me… er… better off they didn’t)… two questions that immediately come to mind.  Why was this within days of that regular visit from the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of the U.S. who come here to basically give Mexico their marching orders?

And, of more immediate concern, what happens now?  The common wisdom has always been that Chapo kept a tight control on his organization, tamping down dissent within his own gang and keeping out rivals… making this town relatively immune to gang wars.  What happens if there is a fight for control of the Sinaloa export trade, or if rival gangs try to move in?

Assuming, of course, this IS Chapo.