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Mexico drug lord's fate is focus of election year speculation
The capture or death of Joaquin 'Chapo' Guzman, the No. 1 drug fugitive, could shift the tone of Mexico's presidential campaign before the July 1 vote.
By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times
March 12, 2012, 3:59 p.m.
Reporting from Mexico City—
A tantalizing question is spicing up talk shows and opinion columns as Mexican voters prepare to elect a new president: Will the government spring a "June surprise" by finally nabbing Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman?
Guzman, you might recall, is the world's most wanted drug suspect — on the lam since escaping a Mexican federal prison in a laundry cart in 2001. He allegedly sits atop a vast crime network reaching into the United States and across much of the globe, and is ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the world's richest men.
In other words, Guzman would be a sweet trophy for President Felipe Calderon, who could use a big score before voters head to the polls July 1.
Calderon's conservative National Action Party, or PAN, and its presidential candidate, Josefina Vazquez Mota, trail in the polls, even though formal campaigning hasn't begun yet. Far ahead is Enrique Peña Nieto, a former governor who hopes to guide the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, back into power after 12 years on the sidelines.
More: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-politics-chapo-20120313,0,1967248.story
By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times
March 12, 2012, 3:59 p.m.
Reporting from Mexico City—
A tantalizing question is spicing up talk shows and opinion columns as Mexican voters prepare to elect a new president: Will the government spring a "June surprise" by finally nabbing Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman?
Guzman, you might recall, is the world's most wanted drug suspect — on the lam since escaping a Mexican federal prison in a laundry cart in 2001. He allegedly sits atop a vast crime network reaching into the United States and across much of the globe, and is ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the world's richest men.
In other words, Guzman would be a sweet trophy for President Felipe Calderon, who could use a big score before voters head to the polls July 1.
Calderon's conservative National Action Party, or PAN, and its presidential candidate, Josefina Vazquez Mota, trail in the polls, even though formal campaigning hasn't begun yet. Far ahead is Enrique Peña Nieto, a former governor who hopes to guide the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, back into power after 12 years on the sidelines.
More: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-politics-chapo-20120313,0,1967248.story
