"Mexico’s former anti-narcotics chief on trial in U.S., accused of protecting cartels" PBS NewsHour 1/23/2023
Excerpt
SUMMARY: In New York, arguments began in the case of the highest-ranking Mexican official to ever stand trial in the U.S. Prosecutors say the very man responsible for working with the U.S. to enforce the War on Drugs, Genaro García Luna protected the cartels he was supposed to prosecute. León Krauze of Univision Noticias joined Nick Schifrin to discuss the case.
SUMMARY: Over the past two decades, hundreds of thousands of Americans have died during a national opioid addiction crisis. As the drug manufacturers face a possible legal reckoning from multiple lawsuits, a newly uncovered database sheds more light on the scope of the disaster. William Brangham talks to Scott Higham, an investigative reporter for The Washington Post, about the "jaw-dropping" data.
SUMMARY: Affordable health care is a persistent concern for Americans and a topic of great political debate. Typically, generic prescription drugs offer a cheaper alternative to name brands, but a new multi-state [44] lawsuit alleges that their manufacturers have been artificially raising prices. John Yang talks to William Tong, Attorney General of Connecticut, whose office has been leading the investigation.
SUMMARY: U.S. consumers often turn to generic versions of prescription drugs to keep costs down, but dozens of states are now suing manufacturers of these drugs, saying they illegally fixed prices and divided up market share. Affected drugs include medicines used to treat everything from minor infections to HIV. John Yang gets reaction from Chip Davis, CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines.
SUMMARY: After a trial lasting nearly three months, the Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman, more widely known as “El Chapo,” was convicted Tuesday and now faces the possibility of life in prison. Prosecutors said that during Guzman's reign, the Sinaloa Cartel became the largest and most prolific drug-trafficking operation in the world. Nick Schifrin talks to Rolling Stone's Noah Hurowitz about the verdict.
SUMMARY: Joaquin Guzman, aka "El Chapo," perhaps the world's most notorious drug lord, was arrested nearly six months after his elaborate escape from a high-security prison in Mexico. Hari Sreenivasan learns more from Alfredo Corchado of Arizona State University about what the capture means for the Mexican government.
HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour): I’m joined now by Alfredo Corchado, director of the Borderlands program at the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He has also reported for many years from Mexico for The Dallas Morning News, and is author of “Midnight in Mexico,” a book about his experience covering the brutal drug war.
So, let’s start with the basics. What happened? Where was he? How did he get captured?
ALFREDO CORCHADO, Arizona State University: Well, he was captured this morning right before dawn, intense firefight between the marines and drug traffickers, people close to or guarding Chapo Guzman.
What we know is that, since last July, the marines, with the help of U.S. intelligence, had been tracking him in several Mexican states, including Sinaloa, where he was captured this morning, the state of Durango, and even Tabasco.
This — there were two confrontations, from what we know, the first one at a private home and then he was later captured at a motel. Five of his trusted bodyguards were killed, and at least one marine was wounded.
HARI SREENIVASAN: This is the second time the president of Mexico has gone on national television and said they have got this guy. I mean, this is an important win.
ALFREDO CORCHADO: This is the second time for President Pena Nieto, and the third time that a Mexican president has said that.
He said, you know, “Mission accomplished,” but I think a lot of people will feel that the mission has not been accomplished until Chapo actually faces justice. And the best chance of doing that will be on the U.S. side.
So, there’s a lot of tangling already going on, a lot of debate as to whether he will be extradited this time.
SUMMARY: Cartel wars have been raging for years now in Mexico, with civilians getting caught in the crossfire. To document the struggle against these cartels, Matthew Heineman embedded with two vigilante groups. He joins Jeffrey Brown to discuss his new documentary, “Cartel Land.”
JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour): It’s the stuff of the nightly news, the violent drug wars in Mexico and along the U.S. border. But the documentary “Cartel Land,” which won awards at the Sundance Film Festival for directing and cinematography, takes the viewer along on a sometimes wild and scary ride at ground level.
Filmmaker Matthew Heineman embedded himself with meth cooks, self-appointed lawmen and others. We spoke recently at the AFI Docs Festival in Washington.
MATTHEW HEINEMAN, Director, “Cartel Land”: For me, there’s been a lot of really wonderful documentaries, news stories, articles about the drug war, about policy, about this issue. And I really wanted to put myself on the ground in the middle of it.
I wanted to get into places that people hadn’t seen before. I’m not a war reporter. I have never been in situations like this before.
JEFFREY BROWN: You never have?
MATTHEW HEINEMAN: Never.
JEFFREY BROWN: That’s exactly the kind of situation Heineman found himself in. He tells his story through the lens of two modern-day vigilante groups, Mexicans in the state of Michoacan led by the charismatic Dr. Jose Mireles, and a paramilitary group of Americans patrolling the U.S. border led by Tim Foley of Arizona.
MATTHEW HEINEMAN: On some level, it’s a character-driven film about these two men. They’re both 55 years old, one living in Arizona; one in Michoacan, Mexico. But both believe that the government has failed them.
And they both have sort of taken up arms to fight for what they believe in. Access and trust are everything, and developing that trust with my subjects was really important, obviously especially on the Mexico side. You know, it was really frightening.
I mean, I — you really didn’t know if you were with the good guys or the bad guys. And very quickly, I realized that this story was a lot more complicated, that the lines between good and evil were much more blurry.
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JEFFREY BROWN: Near the end of film, one of the characters says; it’s never going to stop, period.
Is that what you came to think?
MATTHEW HEINEMAN: I really do think this problem is cyclical.
And I do — you know, as long as there’s a demand for drugs in the States, there will be supply for drugs in Mexico and South America flowing northward.
GWEN IFILL (Newshour): The arrest over the weekend of the head of one of the world’s most sophisticated narcotics networks proved a major victory for both U.S. and Mexican law enforcement.
But both sides now want to prosecute him.
Jeffrey Brown has the story.
JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): Mexican marines led Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman away in handcuffs on Saturday, thus ending a 13-year hunt for one of the world’s most dangerous men.
JESUS MURILLO KARAM, Attorney General, Mexico (through interpreter): This arrest is the product of an operation that’s been worked on for several months in coordination with all federal government agencies. And the arrest was impeccably achieved.
JEFFREY BROWN: Only two days earlier, Guzman was surrounded by troops at his ex-wife’s home in the western city of Culiacan, capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. He got away through a trapdoor under the bathtub, and managed to escape through a network of tunnels and the city’s sewer system.
U.S. drug agents and Mexican troops, acting on wiretaps and other information, pursued him 135 miles South, to this luxury condominium in the seaside resort of Mazatlan. There, just before dawn Saturday, they stormed into Guzman’s room and captured him without firing a shot.
In Washington today, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney praised the joint effort.
JAY CARNEY, White House Press Secretary: This is a significant achievement in our shared fight against transnational organized crime, violence, and drug trafficking. The U.S. and Mexico have a strong security partnership and we will continue to support Mexico in its efforts to ensure that cartel leaders are put out of business.
JEFFREY BROWN: Guzman was formally charged Sunday with drug trafficking in Mexico. He faces indictments in the U.S. as well, and federal prosecutors in New York and Chicago already are asking for his extradition.
It’s not the first time behind bars for the 56-year-old Guzman, nicknamed El Chapo, or Shorty. In 2001, he escaped from a high-security Mexican prison before he was halfway through a 20-year sentence for drug trafficking and murder.
Over the years, he built the Sinaloa cartel into Mexico’s most powerful drug operation, wiping out rivals in a reign of brutality that killed tens of thousands of people. In Mexico City this weekend, word of his capture brought both hope and skepticism.
FRANCISCO ALCOCER, (through interpreter): I think that it’s something very good. I think it’s an excellent achievement from this government that is giving us results. I think not just for Mexico, but for many countries, it’s an important arrest.
RAMON TORRES, (through interpreter): It’s very difficult. The cartel is quite organized and has a presence in many states in the country, so it’s difficult to say that just with the capture of El Chapo the cartel will fall apart.
JEFFREY BROWN: Guzman now joins Miguel Angel Trevino, who was head of the Zetas, a rival cartel, and was arrested last summer. Those are major gets for President Enrique Pena Nieto, who had said he’d rebalance the all-out war against cartels with a new emphasis on the economy and education.
SUMMARY: Under Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel rose to dominate or destroy rivals on the U.S.-Mexican border. Jeffrey Brown looks at how the arrest affects the drug trade with former Mexican intelligence official Alejandro Hope and Sam Quinones of the Los Angeles Times.
SUMMARY: Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, leader of the notorious Zetas drug gang in Mexico, was captured by Mexican armed forces and accused of homicide, torture and money laundering, among other crimes. Morales and his cartel are known for their brutality and the wanton killings of authorities and civilians alike. Jeffrey Brown reports.
SUMMARY: With Miguel Angel Trevino Morales behind bars, who will take over as leader of the Zetas? How does the arrest provoke long-standing rivalries and what does it portend for the long-term fight against drugs? Jeffrey Brown talks to journalist Alfredo Corchado, author of "Midnight in Mexico," about Trevino Morales' legacy.
JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): Now: The U.S. government brings its highest profile case yet of international money laundering against one of the world's biggest banks.
For years, American officials have sought and sometimes struggled to crack down on the practices. Today, the Departments of Justice and Treasury announced a settlement with HSBC.
The bank agreed to pay almost $2 billion in fines and penalties. It was charged with violating sanctions laws by conducting business with customers in Iran, Sudan, and Cuba. It was also party to helping them launder almost $900 million for Mexican drug cartels.
JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): Finally tonight, the Mexican government says it has taken out a major target in its war on drug cartels.
Ray Suarez has our story.
And a warning: Some viewers may find images in his report disturbing.
RAY SUAREZ (Newshour): It was front-page news in Mexico City today. Mexican Marines had killed the leader of the Zetas drug cartel, Heriberto Lazcano, in a shoot-out Sunday.
The navy announced fingerprints confirmed the identity. Then a bizarre twist: Gunmen stole the body from a funeral home before forensic testing could be completed.
HOMERO RAMOS, Coahuila State attorney general (through translator): The owner of Garcia funeral services said notified local authorities that a heavily armed group of masked men subdued the employees, took the body from the funeral home in a hearse and forced the driver to drive the vehicle.
RAY SUAREZ: And officials released a death photo of the man said to be Lazcano. Still, the state attorney general, overseeing the operation, said authorities are confident they got the right man.
HOMERO RAMOS (through translator): An analysis was done comparing the body and its characteristics with the still pictures of Heriberto Lazcano on file. This comparison resulted in a positive match.
RAY SUAREZ: Lazcano was one of Mexico's most feared drug lords, also known as El Verdugo, the Executioner. He transformed the Zetas from enforcers for the Gulf Cartel into a powerful rival organization.
Since then, the Zetas have been blamed for some of the bloodiest atrocities in Mexico's six-year war on drugs, but in recent months, authorities have arrested a string of high-profile Zeta members.
SUMMARY: For Mexican President Felipe Calderon, the fall of Herbito Lazcano is part of a larger strategy to injure drug cartels' operations by targeting their leaders. Judy Woodruff talks to Reuters News Agency's Simon Gardner for more on how this success plays into the larger goals for curbing drug-related violence in Mexico.
SUMMARY: From our series of reports in Mexico, photographer and Juarez resident Julian Cardona speaks with Margaret Warner about how the border city is struggling with violent criminal cartels.
JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): .... Margaret Warner has been in Mexico all week as that nation prepares to vote for a new president on Sunday.
In her reporting, she visited Juarez, the site of so much violence, and met a photographer who's been documenting the city's struggles.
A warning: Some of the images are disturbing.
SUMMARY: With elections around the corner, a top concern for Mexican voters is the war on drug cartels. Margaret Warner continues her reporting from Mexico with a look at the devastating impact of the widespread drug violence.
SUMMARY: In a time of relatively stable economic growth, the top concern for Mexican voters is the national war on cartels and widespread drug violence. Margaret Warner previews the upcoming Mexican election and the various party factions competing for control, including the campaign frontrunner who out-"dazzles" the other candidates.
JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): Finally tonight, we begin a weeklong series of reports from Mexico by Margaret Warner.
Her first focus is on its upcoming presidential election.
