TIJUANA, Mexico — It will take more than a few arrests of top drug kingpins to end the vicious cycle of drug violence plaguing Mexico.
While “El Teo” Teodoro Garcia Simental was the fourth major trafficking suspect to be apprehended or killed since President Felipe Calderon launched a major offensive three years ago, 20 more high-profile drug lords — including billionaire Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the leader of the vast Sinloa Cartel — remain at large.
And the vacuum created by Garcia’s arrest Tuesday in Baja California is expected to fuel even more violence.
“I know that politicians are making a big deal about this arrest, but honestly there is a line of ill-intentioned people waiting to take the place of that man,” said Dulce Gonzalez Armendez, a 25-year-old receptionist in Tijuana. “Not only do I believe this will not bring peace to Baja California, but I also think things will get even worse.”
The transformation of Ciu dad Juarez into one of the world’s most dangerous cities began with a fight between cartels. Guzman and Juarez Cartel boss Vicente Carrillo Fuentes launched a fight over drug routes their organizations had long shared. They have adopted increasingly brutal tactics, with more than 2,500 deaths last year in the city across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas.
The government’s crackdown has not begun to touch the financial and intellectual structures of Mexico’s drug gangs, including the corrupt politicians and businessmen who launder billions in drug profits, said Victor Clark of the Binational Center for Human Rights in Tijuana.
