11/10/11- On Thursday night, the Mexican Army announced the capture of Ovidio Limón Sánchez, who the United States views as a major drug trafficker and a top ten drug trafficker, and who the U.S. State Department offered a $5 million reward for his capture. Limón was one of the highest ranking commanders of the Sinaloa cartel. He was quietly captured during a secret operation in Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa.
The Mexican government released a video explaining the capture’s mechanics and the importance of the arrest of such a high-ranking operator of the Sinaloa cartel. The capture was also cited as a testament to the federal government’s commitment to the drug war and prosecuting of criminal organizations. (Video and link in Spanish)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ff5tyzU701A]
The video explains that the Mexican Army conducted a search and information probe that produced significant information to prepare for the arrest. The capture was planned with three different security checkpoints to intercept and identify Limón’s whereabouts and stop his operations. During the operation, the three checkpoints included the blocking of many of the main roads in Culiacán.
Demonstrating the importance of the capture, the U.S. State Department website states, “The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations operating in Mexico and is responsible for importing and distributing hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States within the last two decades”.
Limón was indicted by a California c0urt in 2009 and will be facing extradition to the United States. Mexican Defense Ministry spokesman Ricardo Trevilla announced to the press that the capture of Limón “significantly affects” the Sinaloa cartel by altering it’s “capacity to traffic cocaine”. The shut down of the networks Limón controlled is a major blow to the cartel’s financial arm, at least temporarily.
Sources:
Zabludovsky, Karla. “Mexico: Trafficking Suspect Caught.” New York Times. November 10, 2011.
“Mexico captures ‘top Sinaloa drug boss’ Limon Sanchez.” BBC News. November 10, 2011.
