El Chapo is the kingpin of a cartel of killers and sadists that peddle drugs around the world; a hindrance to the U.S. but a pox of pure epic proportions on his own people. He claims responsibility for killing 2-3,000 people and has a personal wealth that surpasses $1 billion. When he was arrested in February of 2014, it was supposed to be a major blow to the Sinaloa Cartel. The man who graced, simultaneously, Forbes magazine's list of the world's most powerful people and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's most powerful drug trafficker in the world, was behind bars. His capture could have been a rare moment of public Mexican justice, an example of the fate that awaits those who would put so many of the Mexican people directly at risk as well as indirectly put much of the world at risk. Knowing that the Mexican state has serious corruption problems, the U.S. asked for extradition, the world waited and watched, and all were left wanting. Mexico hid beneath a collapsing umbrella of sovereignty that couldn't keep them dry from a summer shower let alone the thick rain of cash that El Chapo possesses and is all-too-willing to let fall at the feet of the corrupt.
The talking point from Mexican officials is that El Chapo escaped through a tunnel over a mile long. That it had ventilation shafts, a track with a motorcycle, and help from the inside. The D.E.A called it out immediately, saying that it was all for naught if Mexico refused extradition. Here we are, a year later, and El Chapo is free.
Not everyone is buying the company line coming from Mexico either. That same D.E.A. believes that the arrest was an orchestrated event. El Chapo travels with an army-for-hire at all times, yet was found alone at a resort. No shots were fired.
Let us remember the man was responsible for killing 2-3,000 people--that he admits to.
There are high level U.S. officials that believe the arrest was allowed to happen to demonstrate Mexico's advances in the drug war. They also believe that a deal may have been struck that allowed for El Chapo's capture if they promised to not allow extradition. When El Chapo was bored of playing prisoner, he was allowed to escape, perhaps right through the front door.
That is a lot of allowing for a man that has killed, hurt, and shamed so many.
Sovereignty is an important matter for all independent states. The desire to dictate our own paths is what defines each country. But the real question here is whether or not Mexico was really attempting to hang on to their sovereignty or if they were simply fighting El Chapo's battles for him because the price was right.
Mexican officials said the U.S. could have El Chapo in 300 years when he was done finishing his sentence behind Mexican bars for crimes committed in Mexico. In an ideal world, that would be fine.
But this is now the second time El Chapo has been allowed to go free.
At what point does the law of common sense trump sovereignty?
Does the word "sovereignty" lose power when it is, in essence, a cry of "wolf" when there is none?How is the world supposed to take Mexican sovereignty seriously when the people that live there clearly do not? The network of corruption in Mexico is systematic. It is a part of the culture and how do you win that war?
In a country where it's acceptable, and often advisable, to bribe local police with a pocket full of pesos, how is one supposed to expect different from those that work the prisons, and those that dictate policy?
While I am not advocating that the United States "go it alone," there must be a happy median that allows the Mexican authorities to keep their pride as well as their sovereignty. There is already a Joint U.S. Task Force that helps keep eyes, ears, and firepower on the border crossings to prevent illegal drug trafficking. You would think a Joint Tribunal, as well as a Joint Maximum Security Prison ,would be possible.
I don't pretend to have all the answers, but it is time people think beyond traditional sovereignty, beyond traditional jurisdictions, and beyond traditional border demarcations. I'm not the only one saying this either. COMEXI,a civic organization dedicated to finding solutions to this issue, echoes the sentiment.
Imagine a penitentiary funded by both the U.S. and Mexican governments, staffed with an equal number of personnel from both countries, straddling the border. It would take a bit of pride-swallowing from both countries, and a whole lot of common sense.
Perhaps everyone would rather point fingers, hide behind buzz words, and let a sociopath escape prison. Maybe he was allowed to walk out the front door. Maybe he wasn't. This was either gross incompetence or it was gross corruption.
Either way, the failure to the victims of El Chapo, both direct and indirect, is a miscarriage of justice of such magnitude that it may be the biggest crime of all.