“HEARST” and “Redlogarythm” for Borderland Beat
Chapitos sent a letter to a newspaper in which they responded to the recent US indictment by denying they are involved in producing and selling fentanyl. Their involvement in fentanyl production has made them the US’s number one target in Mexico.
They also denied being the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, saying they have no authority over CDS groups in other states, and denied they were involved in certain executions, such as feeding a man to a tiger.
The Letter
On May 4, 2023, the Mexican newspaper Milenio announced that they received a letter that was allegedly sent by los Chapitos, or the sons of El Chapo.
They received the letter through a lawyer named José Refugio Rodríguez and it was addressed to one of Milenio’s well-known journalists, Azucena Uresti.
Milenio is generally considered to be a reputable newspaper. By publishing the letter, the newspaper is choosing to risk their journalistic credibility.
It’s very likely that Milenio vetted the letter and they have found evidence which suggests the letter is authentic and truly from los Chapitos.
That being said, the newspaper has not disclosed any details about their vetting process for the letter.
“Azucena Production at 10:
This letter aims to clarify several things. Firstly, it seeks to give context to what is happening in Sinaloa with what is referred to as ‘the Sinaloa Cartel,” the truth of the April 14 press conference held by the anti-drug agency from the world’s most powerful country, and the use of the Chapo Guzmán & Sons name, or brand.
Regarding the Sinaloa Cartel, we are not and have never been the heads of it and we are not interested in becoming that.
What really exists is a large number of groups, both small and big, that have their base of operations in the state, or groups formed by Sinaloans operating in other parts of the country, and even other parts of the world.
These groups operate independently from the rest and don’t answer to us. We don´t ask them to [answer to us] either.
Why is it necessary to establish this? Well, because, unfortunately, the name of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known all around the world, has become internationally famous.This has only been to our detriment and contributed to international propaganda, using it either in our favor or against us, as they see fit.
The way these independent groups operate usually relies on the use of our Father’s [or Padre, capital P] name, or in more recent cases on using our name, “los chapitos” [little c], as we have been labeled.
For example, in order to work with total impunity, they trick their suppliers and clients into believing they are our business partners and intermediaries, in order to have a better negotiating position.
Since they have problems with law enforcement, they choose to implicate us instead as a part of plea deals. Without any photos, audio recordings or video evidence, they [law enforcement] believe their stories – not facts. It is easy to do when the person you blame doesn’t have the right to answer.
But, it is not just people from the underworld who benefit from our name. In the social media era in which we live, the number of people using Chapo Guzmán’s name or ours, his Sons, keeps increasing. They do this out of a need to get views and go viral, or from a desire to become famous themselves.
There are countless corridos or songs that musicians compose with fake information, and without permission, in order to become nationally or internationally famous. Companies use our name to establish themselves. They produce clothing, beverages, accessories and more by alluding to our name, or our father´s, to obtain an economic benefit.
Even an economic / financial magazine gained market share by publishing our father’s name on a list of millionaires, without any evidence.
Media outlets have regularly created articles with our names in the titles and even put them in headlines of the front page, solely for the purpose of selling more newspapers or to obtain clicks on their webpage.
Youtube channels will invite alleged ‘drug trafficking experts’ that comment on us, and our ways of operating, who have no knowledge about what they are speaking about. Then, the People [capital P] see it, believe it and judge us.
The people and companies which use our names and lastname benefit endlessly from it. But, we are the ones hurt by it.
With each corrido that is heard, with each product that is sold, with each sensationalist media or social media article that is published, with each YouTube interview with “experts”, our name becomes more and more damaged. A lie told one thousand times ends up becoming true.
Our approach regarding these kinds of things has always been prudence. We haven’t felt it necessary, nor have we believed it prudent, to speak out before. We believed that by remaining silent, and not bothering anybody, that the consequences of the cradle we were born in would diminish.
On Friday, the 14th of April, 2023, something unprecedented happened. The anti-drug agency from the world’s most powerful country publicized charges against us for the importation and selling of fentanyl. Our name´s reputation has now reached an undreamt-of level of fame.
We have never worked with fentanyl, however there are plenty of Sinaloans who do so and that is why there are [fentanyl] seizures. Those seizures belong to somebody and we encourage law enforcement to investigate them. If the government has agents working in the state, then they already know what’s really going on in Sinaloa. It isn’t hard to know who really owns these seizures.
We have never established, knowingly, a relationship with fentanyl traffickers.
We want to make this clear: Ivan never said ‘We will flood the streets of the US with fentanyl.’
The story about us murdering someone with our own hands, the story of the bat and the tigers is FALSE. A tiger might kill a person, but eat him? We don’t have, and never had, tigers. That’s easy and simple enough to investigate.
We have searched for records about Federal Policemen being killed in Culiacán in 2017, and haven´t found them, and if those records existed we don´t know who is responsible.
We have never gotten involved in a war, or any conflict, against a group known as Los Zetas, so they can’t claim we murdered any of them.
Also we have never had any interest in “dominating” Chihuahua, Coahuila, Michoacán or any other States that they mentioned. If somebody, any anybody, says we do [these things] to law enforcement, Mexican or American, that person is lying.
The use of our name by other people in order to get rid of, prevent, or solve their problems is starting to become a problem for us. If you run into trouble, whoever you are, deal with it on your own, without falsely involving us. We also hope that authorities act with truth, in accordance with the law. We will always look out for our own well-being and that of our families.
We didn’t choose to be where we are. No one can choose the cradle they are born into. We wanted to have a good life and be able to have an education – a privilege which was denied to us, at the time, due to the hunt for our father.
No judge or judicial magistrate will treat us fairly [in court] out of a fear of being targeted and legally prosecuted.
This letter is sent for one reason only. And we don’t expect the recipients [of this letter] to take our word on face value. In fact, we want our claims to be looked into further.
We invite any interested media outlet or governmental agency, Mexican or international, to investigate the fentanyl issue in Mexico and Sinaloa thoroughly.
Who produces it? Where do they get the precursors from? And, how do they transport it to the US?
We are certain that any impartial investigation will reach this conclusion:
The sons of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, who the public knows as Los Chapitos, have never created, manufactured, or sold fentanyl, nor any of its derivatives.
We are victims of persecution and we are being made into a scapegoat.
We hope this letter gets to the right people. We are at your service.”
A Review of What They are Responding To
This letter is focused on denying specific claims made in the recent US indictment (the press release summary of which can be read in full here) of them, unsealed and released on April 14, 2023.
The indictment provided highly specific details about a network of Chinese chemical companies, and intermediaries, who sold precursor chemicals to a Guatemalan broker who works for los Chapitos.
The Guatemalan broker procured the chemicals by paying the Chinese companies through a network of money launderers who used cryptocurrency transactions. Specific bitcoin addresses were listed.
The document dissects the role played by specific, named individuals, and how their role fits in within the larger Chapitos fentanyl production process, listing out dates, locations, and specific amounts bought.
Four laboratory managers were named and details about them are given. Three financial operators, who focus on laundering money and transferring payment to Chinese chemical companies, were named and details about them are given. Five more operators, said to manage the “drug trafficking infrastructure”, were named and details about them are given.
It’s interesting to note that Chapitos responded to none of these specific details about individuals tied to them, and instead hand-waved them away by stating “there are plenty of Sinaloans who do so and that is why there are [fentanyl] seizures. Those seizures belong to somebody and we encourage law enforcement to investigate them.”
Borderland Beat’s “Redlogarythm” is currently writing a story reviewing and summarizing the US indictment which details the Chapitos fentanyl production network.
“Something Unprecedented Happened”
One of the more bizarre claims made in the Chapitos letter is their seeming disbelief at the unprecedented nature of the criminal charges being levied against them.
They wrote “On Friday, the 14th of April, 2023, something unprecedented happened. The anti-drug agency from the world’s most powerful country publicized charges against us for the importation and selling of fentanyl. Our name´s reputation has now reached an undreamt-of level of fame.”
They fail to mention that this same anti-drug agency “from the world’s most powerful country” has publicized other drug charges against them since 2009.
Jesús Alfredo was indicted first, back in 2008, but the indictment wasn’t unsealed and publicly acknowledged until August 2009. The US charged him for his alleged role as a coordinator for a cocaine & heroin smuggling pipeline.
Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Ovidio Guzmán López were sanctioned by the US in May 2012 “for their roles in their father’s drug trafficking organization and the Sinaloa Cartel.” Other US indictments against the Chapitos brothers followed, such as Jesus Alfredo being sanctioned in 2012.
Somehow those highly publicized charges from 2009 and 2012 were not “unprecedented” enough to deserve a response but these April 2023 charges somehow were.
What actually makes the charges different is the recent US push to target fentanyl traffickers specifically, more than other kinds of drug traffickers. The renewed law enforcement pressure on them has finally started to impact their ability to indulge in their opulent lifestyles.
Other Communications Like the Letter
Other cartel groups have also made public statements which distance themselves with the production of fentanyl. The Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) made a video in January 2023 (covered here) in which they denied being involved in fentanyl trafficking.
This is also not the first time that Chapitos have tried to reach the public through a letter. In 2017, during a time of heightened conflict with Dámaso, Chapitos sent a letter to the reporter Ciro Gómez Leyva.
In the letter, the Chapitos alleged that Damaso Lopez Núñez attempted to kill El Mayo at a meeting but Damaso’s gunmen failed to kill him. The communication was signed by two of the Chapitos, Ivan Archivaldo and Jesus Alfredo. Dámaso later released his own letter in which he denied the attempted assassination occurred.
Sinaloa Cartel vs Los Zetas
Another claim made by los Chapitos is that they “have never gotten involved in a war, or any conflict, against a group known as Los Zetas, so they can’t claim we murdered any of them.” This is a response to the recent indictment’s allegation that los Chapitos ordered that three captured los Zetas be tortured for information in 2017.
Now, the war between the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) and Los Zetas is well known and indisputably occurred. Los Chapitos are presumably trying to claim that they only became involved in CDS after the Zetas war had ended.
However, according to the aforementioned US indictments, Jesus Alfredo, Ivan and Ovidio were all working within CDS by the year 2012.
And, CDS was very much still at war with the Zetas during 2012. For concrete evidence of this, look no further than the US Homeland Security reports being sent out in May 2012 which detail the ongoing conflict between CDS and Los Zetas.
It’s important to remember that El Lazca wasn’t even killed until the end of that year, in October 2012. When news of his demise broke, many speculated that his death would benefit CDS in their ongoing war with them and rumors swirled that a cartel group colluded with the government to have Lazca killed.
So, for Chapitos to claim that they “have never gotten involved in a war, or any conflict, against a group known as Los Zetas” is bizarre, to say the least.
A much more sensible claim for them to make would have been that they were not involved in the 2017 torture of Zetas members outlined in the indictment because by 2017, los Zetas no longer existed, having previously split and fragmented into smaller groups, such as Cartel de Noreste, Zetas Vieja Escuela and Sangre Nueva Zetas.
Now, some still call members of these offshoot groups “Zetas”, which may explain the indictment’s allegation.
Questions about the likelihood of three “Zetas” hitmen traveling to the Durango / Sinaloa border region are worth considering.
However, rather than deny the specific 2017 claim, which has it’s peculiarities, Chapitos instead claimed that they “have never gotten involved in a war, or any conflict, against a group known as Los Zetas” – something which is demonstrably false.
Sources: Milenio, US Department of Justice, US Department of Justice, Office for Foreign Assets Control, Borderland Beat, El País, El Financiero, Zeta, El Siglo de Torreón
Further Reading
