El Chapo’s daughter marries narco rival
In scenes reminiscent of The Godfather, a daughter of the notorious drug lord Joaquin ‘‘El Chapo’’ Guzman has married the nephew of another alleged narco trafficker at a lavish ceremony in the city of Culiacan, Mexico.
Much of the centre of the city was sealed off and under apparent control of a drug cartel’s security team as the dynastic union was sealed.
The bride, who wore a traditional ‘‘princess’’ wedding gown, arrived at the cathedral service in a white bulletproof car. The Catholic wedding Mass was conducted by a priest described by Mexican media as a ‘‘family friend’’ of the Guzmans.
Local reports claim that the bride was Alejandrina Gisselle
Guzman Salazar, one of more than a dozen children of El
Chapo, long seen as the world’s most powerful drug lord, whose criminal operations led to thousands of deaths. The groom, Edgar Cazares, is the nephew of Blanca Margarita Cazares, otherwise known as ‘‘The Empress’’.
The US Treasury sanctioned Blanca Cazares in 2007 for her ‘‘sophisticated money laundering apparatus’’ and links to known drug traffickers. Residents in Culiacan had reported that the city’s cathedral was closed to the public on January 25 for an ‘‘important wedding’’, though no further information was released. Images of the marriage reception, which was held in a nearby estate known as the ‘‘Big Alamo’’ have since emerged on social media.
Culiacan is the de facto headquarters of Mexico’s most successful drug gang, the Sinaloa cartel. The group was led for several decades by El Chapo [Shorty], who became a billionaire largely by eliminating rivals and monopolising the business of exporting cocaine and other drugs to the US. He twice managed to escape from Mexican jails but was arrested in 2016 and extradited to the US, where he is serving a life prison sentence.
Last November in Culiacan, police attempted to arrest Ovidio Guzman, Alejandrina’s brother, who is alleged to now control the cartel. Within minutes, dozens of heavily armed gunmen arrived and began to threaten the officers, who quickly backed down.
Alejandrina Guzman has been capitalising on her father’s legacy with the launch of the ‘‘El Chapo 701’’ fashion brand last year. In January, she diversified with the launch of an ‘‘El Chapo’’ beer, featuring the drug lord’s familiar moustached image on the label.