He was called the King of Crystal because he had strong control over methamphetamine production and traffic in Mexico. At one time he was a specialist in moving cocaine by boats from Colombia to Mexico and across the Texas and Arizona borders. The U.S. State Department had a price of $5 million on his head for information leading to his capture. He started out with Amado Carrillo Fuentes, head of the Juarez cartel, but moved out to the West Coast to join the Sinaloa cartel after Carrillo's death during plastic surgery operation on his face. He was apparently a talented operator and rose to become, with Chapo Guzman and "El Mayo" Zambada, one of the top leaders of the Sinaloa cartel.
But on Thursday morning Nacho Coronel, 56, was killed by military troops who raided several houses in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara, where Coronel resided. It was perhaps the biggest downfall of a drug lord since Arturo Beltran Leyva was killed in Cuernavaca last December.
Nevertheless, in Juarez this morning a new narcomessage was painted on a wall saying (in Spanish), "the 15 days are up and we haven't seen anything, take care of yourselves those who cover for Chapo..." and signed "La Linea." Two weeks ago a car bomb went off in Juarez, killing several persons and narcomessages were hung out claiming the bombing was retaliation from La Linea for the alleged protection law enforcement officials provide for Chapo Guzman's activities in Juarez. A bloody rivalry between the Juarez cartel (also called "La Linea") and the Sinaloa cartel has raged in Juarez for the past two years. For more than a year members of the Juarez cartel have claimed authorities in Juarez were not targeting their rivals, the Sinaloa cartel. These allegations have been firmly denied by government authorities. Apparently Nacho Coronel's death has not convinced La Linea they are strongly pursuing the Sinaloa cartel.
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