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Crime

Move Over Al Capone, There’s a New Kingpin in Town: Meet Chicago’s New Public Enemy No. 1

Feb. 14, 2013 5:33pm Jason Howerton

Chicago Names Sinaloa Cartel Boss El Chapo Guzman Public Enemy No. 1

FILE – In this June 10, 1993 file photo, Joaquin Guzman Loera, alias “El Chapo” Guzman, is shown to the media after his arrest at the high security prison of Almoloya de Juarez. (AP)

CHICAGO (TheBlaze/AP) — A drug kingpin in Mexico who has never set foot in Chicago has been named the city’s new Public Enemy No. 1 – the same notorious label assigned to Al Capone at the height of the Prohibition-era gang wars.

The Chicago Crime Commission considers Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman even more menacing than Capone because he’s the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, which supplies most of the narcotics sold in the city.

“What Al Capone was to beer and whiskey during Prohibition, Guzman is to narcotics,” said Art Bilek, the commission’s executive vice president. “Of the two, Guzman is by far the greater threat. … And he has more power and financial capability than Capone ever dreamed of.”

In an exclusive interview with TheBlaze back in September, Jack Riley, special agent in charge for the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), said Guzman is even more dangerous than Capone and the Italian mobs of the past. In fact, he argued that Mexican drug cartels are so embedded in Chicago, that law enforcement has to operate as if they are on the Mexican border.

“If I pitted the Italian organized crime groups against for instance, ‘Chapo’ Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel, it wouldn’t be a fight,” he said. “His ability to corrupt, his ability to enforce his sanctions and to really do with an endless supply of revenue is in my opinion far greater than older Italian organized crime.”

Riley and Guzman are well acquainted too. The DEA head posed such a threat to the Mexican drug cartels when he ran a DEA operation on the border in El Paso, Guzman reportedly put a bounty on his head.

The commission – a non-government body that tracks city crime trends – designated Capone Public Enemy No. 1 in 1930. It has declared other outlaws public enemies, but Capone was the only one deemed No. 1.

Until now.

Guzman is thought to be holed up in a mountain hideaway in western Mexico, but he ought to be treated as a local Chicago crime boss for the havoc his cartel creates in the nation’s third-largest city, said Jack Riley, of the Drug Enforcement Administration, which joined the commission in affixing the title to Guzman.

The point of singling out Guzman was to inspire more public support for going after him, Bilek said.

“Ninety-nine percent of the people in the United States have never heard of this man,” he said. “Concerted action … must be taken now against Guzman before he establishes a bigger network and a bigger empire in the United States.”

FILE – In this Jan. 19, 1931 file photo, Chicago mobster Al Capone attends a football game in Chicago. Credit: AP

Capone based his bootlegging and other criminal enterprises in Chicago during Prohibition, when it was illegal to make or sell alcohol in the U.S. He eventually went to prison for income tax evasion, but he gained the greatest notoriety for the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre that left seven rivals dead.

Yet Riley says Guzman – whose nickname means “shorty” in Spanish – is more ruthless than Capone, whose nickname was “Scarface.”

“If I was to put those two guys in a ring, El Chapo would eat that guy (Capone) alive,” Riley told The Associated Press in a recent interview at his office, pointing at pictures of the men.

Riley described Chicago as one of Sinaloa’s most important cities, not only as a final destination for drugs but as a hub to distribute them across the U.S.

“This is where Guzman turns his drugs into money,” he said.

The Department of Justice’s National Drug Intelligence Center estimates that in “2009 and 2010, cartels operated in 1,286 U.S. cities. The center named only 50 cities in 2006,” according to a CNN report. Here’s a graphic to put it into context:

(National Post)

Mexican cartels that ship drugs to Chicago are rarely directly linked to slayings. But Bilek said Thursday that cartel-led trafficking is an underlying cause of territorial battles between street gangs that are blamed for rising homicide rates.

“He virtually has his fingerprints on the guns that are killing the children of this city,” Bilek told a news conference.

Guzman, who has been on the run since escaping from a Mexican prison in a laundry cart in 2001, is one of the world’s most dangerous and most wanted fugitives. He’s also one of the richest: Forbes magazine has estimated his fortune at $1 billion.

Now in his mid-50s, Guzman has been indicted on federal trafficking charges in Chicago and, if he is ever captured alive, U.S. officials want him extradited here to face trial. The U.S. government has offered a $5 million reward for his capture.

“His time is coming,” Riley said. “I can’t wait for that day.”

It was only a coincidence, Bilek said Thursday, that the announcement naming Guzman Public Enemy No. 1 came on the anniversary of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, which raised public pressure to capture Capone.

Within two years of being designated Public Enemy No. 1 in 1930, Capone had been captured, convicted and imprisoned.

With the same label now attached to Guzman, Bilek said, “we hope the same thing will happen to him.”

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (77)

Arshloch
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 2:02pm
El Chapo might be #2 but he will never outclass El Mayoro

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bigbear_awake
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 1:06pm
its bho

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coalfired
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 12:09pm
The Obama Cartel, does have a ring to it! If it acts like a cartel, sounds like a cartel, uses its enforcers like a cartel, sells guns to other cartels,It must be a cartel. How soon will it be before the Obama Cartel tries to sell drones to the other cartels?

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KidCharlemagne
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 10:48am
Economist Milton Friedman described the scenario currently going in Chicago to perfection in his 1991 interview:

————————————-
Friedman: Of course it is, and it is because it’s prohibited. See, if you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel. That’s literally true.

Paige: Is it doing a good job of it?

Friedman: Excellent. What do I mean by that? In an ordinary free market–let’s take potatoes, beef, anything you want–there are thousands of importers and exporters. Anybody can go into the business. But it’s very hard for a small person to go into the drug importing business because our interdiction efforts essentially make it enormously costly. So, the only people who can survive in that business are these large Medellin cartel kind of people who have enough money so they can have fleets of airplanes, so they can have sophisticated methods, and so on.

In addition to which, by keeping goods out and by arresting, let’s say, local marijuana growers, the government keeps the price of these products high. What more could a monopolist want? He’s got a government who makes it very hard for all his competitors and who keeps the price of his products high. It’s absolutely heaven.

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Krutch
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 10:23am
I say obama and his mob are public enemy #1!!!!!
The cartels need bama to stay in office. Although the last several presidents haven’t hurt the drug traffic either.

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ktmrider1
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 9:03am
there’s only room for one mafia boss in town and that is rahm emanual

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B-Neil
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 8:30am
Excuse me; How many cops do they have in Chicago?? They had to reach out of the country to find a public enemy?? I see, it’s to hard to find a public Enemy living in the city. We would’nt want to tag one of Obamas best friends.

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AbrahamsSheepdog
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 8:13am
Think 0′s bff is in trouble from the sound of it. All that dirty campaign donating did buy this guy much. You should not screw with a drug dealer.

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- AbrahamsSheepdog
  Posted on February 15, 2013 at 8:32am
  Probably his blo santa was snorting during bathhouse parties. Santa you are a bum of the lowest levels letting your friends and thugs of the world rape & pillage everything. The emotional drugs you feed and live on are temporary pleasures.
  
  Report this comment
JustJason
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 8:00am
Fictional boogeyman to blame the murders and violence in Chicago.

Political Correctness prevents them from blaming it on blacks.

Their blind marxist ideology of no judgement, no opinions, and no moral standards is what causes thus madness. The false thought being judgement, opinions, and moral standards is what causes turmoil so get rid of it. The inner city is what the Marxist wishes for us all. Hip hop music is the bridge to other social economic circles.

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lessoneleg
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 7:26am
I really take exception to Democrats placing Public Enemy Number One out. Why? Because the gross majority of liberal Democrats flaunt drug laws and the implicent use of drugs within their so called intellectual society from which Democrats make public jokes. We’ve all seen the college humour lines about smoking dope, and the Hollywood escalation use of powdered drugs sniffing on table tops.
Heck, you have the current President Of The United States comment he was a massive Pot Smoker throughout high school and college. In fact he prided himself in cocaine use! Marco Rubio has one stinking sip of water, and CNN, and MSNBC go into histarics saying its a career ender.
Democrats laud drug use to the point that decriminalizing a whole litany of drugs would be decriminalized if they had a chance. Placing a Wanted sign over his picture is so disingenuous of Democrats. I can hear this guys comments, why arrest me for providing you Mr.President Big Shot with the stuff you and your buddies in the White House use every Camp David trip. And here is my curriers transcripts and names of your White House users who buy my services, touché Mr.President Obama.

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Alternative_Thought
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 7:09am
Ohhh! That’s why dems say the border is so secure it’s in Chicago where obamas minions can keep an eye on it. I think a teachable moment, time for a beer summit.

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Acena
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 6:39am
80% of the murders in Chicago are gang related .
This public enemy declaration is just media food. Chicago politicians have partnered with gangs for decades .Democrats promise to ignore gang activity in exchange for votes.

70% of meth,80% of heroin and 90% of pot and coke come across our southern border. The government has always known that. They benefit too much from drug money to care about stopping it.

Also the economy of Mexico would collapse without our drug users.

Deaths related to the drug trade,terrorist financing with drug money and the millions of illegals here running the drugs are of no interest to our government except for the money and votes they receive .

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woodyee
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 5:30am
Sinaloa Cartel –

It’s the same cartel Obama and Holder were arming through Operation Fast and Furious. They’re the number one distributors of cocaine in Chicago. The Mayor of Chicago is Rahm Emmanuel. Rahm Emmanuel worked for pseudo-President Gaybama.

Full Circle.

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media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 2:48am
Tragic as life is for people addicted to drugs, far more innocent people loose their lives from violence, because the people that want these products are too lazy to legalize them? You could license the drugs, demand blood tests, and if someone shows signs of addiction, lock them up in a treatment center, instead of trying to play the cat and mouse game?

That’s called being a domestic enemy of the US Constitution, allowing prescription drugs to be used, but throw other people in jail because doctors refuse to petition to license equally dangerous drugs, allowing the comparison of treatments to be viewed as “cruel and unusual punishment”?

When the singer of Aerosmith, known to have lost enormous amounts of money to illegal drugs, can rehabilitate himself and get on American Idol, or when Robin Williams can start his career, by making jokes about drugs, these are powerful messages that the public cherishes, they don’t ignore these things?

The entire Hip Hop industry thrives around evading the police? We’re not sure what the lyrics mean, maybe we should judge by the albumn covers? How many more thousands of Mexicans who can’t own guns are going to die? If American police become corrupted or incapacipated like Mexican police, how many Americans are going to die?

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cyberclown7
Posted on February 15, 2013 at 1:55am
Now we have a use for drones. Fly one over to his house and let it loose.

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Carlinpa
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:31pm
There’s a drug problem in Chicago? I got it, I got it!, they should just BAN illegal drugs!!
There, problem solved! I should get a medal..

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SpeakSoftlyAndCarry
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:41pm
And Guzman could have NEVER become Chicago’s “Public Enemy #1″ were it not for our government’s FAILURE to secure our borders and actively deport illegal aliens. And the longer the government fails to do it’s job and protect our borders the more Mexican Drug Kingpins will gain control in this country.

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TotallyNotATroll
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:33pm
Ironic pointing out that he is to narcotics what capone was to beer and alcohol. We legalized those to stop the problem.

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RinkyDink34
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:29pm
Wrong answer: Comrade Moozlum Obama is The Publics Number One Enemy!

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toomuchgovt
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 8:08pm
All Day I’ve posted and all day I’ve been censored. I guess when I write a unfavorable questions or comment about Beck after being a faithful subscriber and listener since his days with the Nancy Grace Network, the Blaze staff decides to censor.

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Apexduck
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 8:03pm
Robert Blake is public enemy number 1 !!!

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jungle J
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 8:02pm
If dopers didn’t teach their children to dope we wouldn’t have this problem.

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BostonHarold
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 7:57pm
This guy is a sadistic torturer who beheads and dismembers those who dis him with a chainsaw. His stooges will skin you alive. If you fail to deliver a drug shipment and get busted by the FBI in Florida you and your family are as good as dead. There are grisly images of his depravity on the ‘Borderland Beat’ website. You have been warned. Graphic doesn’t begin to describe them. This puke is vermin.

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Topcat
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 7:47pm
wasnt he in custody in Chicago a year or so ago , and was going to trade Fast and Furious Gun running information and info on another cartel , for a deal ? Whats he doing in Mexico again …

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ElDeVerde
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 7:19pm
I would have picked Rahm Emanuel, oh well. “El Chapo” Guzman es mucho malo hombre. If a panzy ass in Chicago goes against him he’ll just engullir ellos como si fueran caramelos y luego cortó su cabeza. It’s about time these open border pendejos experience some of the mierda that we have to deal with every day in south Texas. The path to citizenship for el espalda mojada is by way of cocaine, marijuana, heroin and sex traffic. Los yankees are going to get exactly what they asked for. Welcome to norte México.

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