The war within the Sinaloa cartel: three letters that describe the struggle for power after the arrest of “Chapo” Guzmán

Since the arrest of drug trafficker Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as “El Chapo”, and his extradition to the United States, where he is currently detained for life, the story of the struggles within the Sinaloa cartel began to be told by correspondence.

It all started afterwards, realizing that there would be a void at the head of the cartel he was leading, “El Chapo” wrote a letter to Dámaso López, known as “El Licenciado”, asking him to take care of his children: Jesús Alfredo Guzmán, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán and Ovidio Guzmán López, known as “Los Chapitos”

“There I entrust you to walk in agreement for all of you and my four children, to put meters throughout the State and let boys and widows be paid and what is left per month is half for you and half for the four. “, were Guzmán Loéra’s words to “El Licenciado”.

Dámaso López became a trusted colleague for “El Chapo” when, in 2001, he reportedly helped the famous drug dealer get out of Puente Grande prison. Dámaso López had held the post of deputy director of the prison until a few months before Guzmán Loera’s first escape, and is accused of leading the chain of corrupt officials who allowed the leader to leave in a cart from laundry towards his freedom.

With the years, Dámaso López was accumulating power within the Sinaloa cartel in a quiet way. There was no known image of “El Licenciado” and he was not significantly mentioned in the media. However, as part of the criminal organization, according to the book Lords of narco from Mexican journalist Anabel Hernández, Dámaso has extended his network of corrupt politicians and drug trafficking negotiations in the United States, Central America and South America. He even had his own armed group, called Special forces of Dámaso.

The buildup of power by the drug trafficker gave him the opportunity to challenge “Los Chapitos” in the dispute over the leadership of the Sinaloa cartel after Guzmán Loera’s arrest. In such a way that, In an act of treason, Dámaso López ignored the letter sent to him by his compadre.

The second letter that marked the history of the power conflict within the Sinaloa cartel is the one which, as confirmed by Joaquín Guzmán Loera’s lawyer for Radio Fórmula, “Los Chapitos” wrote after Jesús Alfredo Guzmán and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán were kidnapped by elements of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), in a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta.

About fifty armed men arrived at the restaurant where Iván Archivaldo was celebrating his birthday. They outnumbered and surpassed the escorts of “Los Chapitos” and they subjugated the sons of Guzmán Loera. However, that night their lives were spared and they were released.

Regarding the latter, Iván Archivaldo said for the Belgian weekly Knack “The only lesson I learned from this was that I can’t trust anyone, not even my own shadow. Fortunately, the people who kidnapped me spared my life. This is the only reason I am always with my family and friends. “.

The letter in which the two brothers described what happened on the night of August 15, 2016, during their kidnapping, was circulated in the media. The handwritten text indicated an alliance between “El Licenciado” and the CJNG, led to this day by Nemesio Oseguera “El Mencho”.

The dispute continued until Dámaso López was arrested in May 2017, after a hacker who worked for him handed it over to the authorities. The drug trafficker, feared for the life of his son, known by the nickname “Mini Lic”, sent the third letter which tells the story of the leadership conflict that began in 2016.

Fear of losing his son to the hands of “Los Chapitos”, Dámaso López addressed his son to ask him to go to the DEA, according to the weekly Rio doce. “El Licenciado” hoped to be able to negotiate an agreement with the US authorities that would benefit him and his son, in exchange for more information on Joaquín Guzmán Loera and his criminal organization.

According to unofficial sources from the weekly to which Javier Valdez belonged (a journalist murdered, according to some versions, on the orders of Dámaso López), “El Licenciado” was able to testify in the trial conducted in New York against García Luna.

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