Mexican president visits ‘El Chapo’ birthplace
Peace, reconciliation sought
BADIRAGUATO (Reuters) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday visited the birthplace of the country’s most infamous drug trafficker, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, calling for peace and reconciliation days after a United States jury convicted the kingpin.
Speaking to a crowd in Badiraguato, a mountainous municipality in the northwestern state of Sinaloa that is long associated with cartels, Lopez Obrador said people must not be “stigmatized.”
“(The people of) Badiraguato are good people, they are hardworking people,” he told a cheering crowd in a public square. “We must seek reconciliation, we must find peace.”
Though warring gang factions have inflicted periodic bloodshed on the municipality, some villagers speak fondly of the largesse of their native son, who was born in the hamlet of La Tuna and whose Sinaloa cartel provided work for marijuana and opium poppy growers.
With a population of 32,000, Badiraguato is one of the poorest municipalities in the state of Sinaloa and the country, according to Mexican statistics agency Inegi.
Lopez Obrador, who has spoken of the need to fight poverty across Mexico, announced a development plan for Badiraguato that included a new highway, a public university and a program to plant trees.
“Until now, I’ve never seen a president come here,” Javier de la Rocha, a 41-year-old farmer, said.
“El Chapo” is not the only drug lord who calls it home – Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, both former leaders of the Guadalajara cartel, were also born nearby.
In a district where 70 percent of residents live below the poverty line, the capos emerged as unlikely benefactors, building roads and buildings, according to locals.
That may explain why some found Lopez Obrador’s visit, coming after “El Chapo’s” conviction on smuggling tons of drugs to the US, so significant. With the drug lord behind bars, and facing a probable life sentence, Badiraguato will need a new champion.
“Mr. Guzmán helped the town a lot. Now that he is not here, let’s hope the state responds,” Jose Carrillo, a 61-year-old day laborer, said while eating at a chicken restaurant named after El Chapo.
Several residents said they were cautiously optimistic about Lopez Obrador’s plans and eager to work on the projects.
“With the university, my family is no longer going to have to travel to study elsewhere,” De la Rocha said leaning on his shovel in front of a huge sign welcoming Lopez Obrador.