Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho, led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most powerful and violent criminal groups in the country. On Sunday, the country's most dreaded drug lord was killed by security forces.
Drug cartels in Mexico are not just criminal gangs; in many areas, they act like shadow governments. The moment has also revived memories of another infamous kingpin, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, also known as Shorty, the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel.
At his pinnacle, El Chapo's wealth and influence were so vast that Forbes estimated his fortune in the billions, placing him alongside business tycoons and global leaders.
El Chapo made the Sinaloa Cartel one of the most powerful narcotics empires in the world. It also became a very organised and sophisticated drug trafficking system.
One of its most famous methods was the use of secret underground tunnels. These tunnels ran across the US-Mexico border and were equipped with lighting, ventilation and even rail systems to move drugs quietly and avoid detection.
But tunnels were just one part of the system. The cartel also used airplanes, boats, and trucks to move drugs. Shipments would travel by sea, air or land depending on what was safest and fastest.
Since the cartel was moving huge amounts of drugs internationally and earning billions of dollars, Forbes magazine estimated that El Chapo himself was making about $1 billion and added him to the list of "Billionaires" and "Most Powerful People" from 2009 to 2013, according to The Sunday Guardian.
Forbes did not have access to his bank accounts. Instead, it made rough calculations based on the scale of the Sinaloa Cartel's drug business. However, this sparked strong criticism as he was a violent criminal, yet his name appeared alongside business leaders and industrialists.
Later, Forbes removed him from the list, saying it could no longer accurately verify his wealth.
El Chapo has been in a Colorado prison since 2019 and is serving a life sentence.
