WANTED The real Mr Big behind El Chapo’s drug cartel

security and health care services not covered by local authorities – has allowed him to build an impenetrable protection network.

Francisco Jimenez Reynoso, a researcher at the University of Guadalajara, says: “They buy wills, they buy loyalties and, in many cases, they are willing to give up their lives for a character of this nature, even if they engage in illicit activities.”

Despite his low-key, almost gentle, persona, El Mayo is not a man to be crossed. Protected by dozens of henchmen, he has stayed at the top despite huge blows to his inner circle.

In recent years, two of his sons and a nephew have been captured.

But his most significant loss was his bother, Jesus Zambada, who was arrested in 2008 and is now helping the US’S case against El Chapo. After seeking a deal with US prosecutors, Jesus – the cartel’s chief accountant for more than 15 years – said his brother and El Chapo were considered Sinaloa’s leaders.

El Mayo also lost his right-hand man, Manuel Torres Felix, in a shootout with the military in 2012. Five years later, El Mayo survived an attack, reportedly by Damaso Lopez Nunez, another Sinaloa leader. A slew of deaths followed the assassination attempt.

The ambush also targeted two of El Chapo’s sons, suggesting an internal power struggle after his capture in Mexico in 2016, and his extradition to the US a year later.

Some analysts had believed El Mayo might be slipping into the shadows, or even retiring, but instead, since El Chapo’s capture, he seems to be relishing his sole command.