LEAKED CABLE: SECURITY SYSTEM HAS HELPED "CHAPO" GUZMAN

An elaborate security system has enabled Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin
"Chapo" Guzman to evade capture thus far, according to a U.S.
diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.

The cable also reveals that the Mexican army has two officers
stationed at the DEA's El Paso Intelligence Center, and that Mexico's
army prefers to work closely with U.S. anti-drug agencies because it
distrusts its country's civilian law enforcement.

The cable summarizes a discussion last year between U.S. National
Intelligence Director Dennis Blair and Mexican Defense Secretary Gen.
Guillermo Galvan Galvan.

"(Galvan) noted that they have found 10 to 15 locations where
(Guzman) moves, but that 'Chapo' commands the support of a large
network of informers and has security circles of up to 300 men that
make launching capture operations difficult," the document said.

Guzman is battling the Carrillo Fuentes drug cartel for control of
the Chihuahua state smuggling corridor, which includes border
communities like Juarez, Valle de Juarez, Palomas and Ojinaga.

This year, more than 3,000 men and women died in Juarez in violence
the authorities attributed to warring drug cartels.

In addition to local gangs, Mexican intelligence reports indicate
that the battlefield allegedly has attracted Zetas and people with
ties to Colombian armed guerrillas.

The Mexican general said the military has adopted a three-stage
strategy to target Guzman, which includes establishing a physical
force in the drug lord's operations area, deploying a circle of
soldiers into his areas of movement, and capturing him.

"Galvan complained that joint operations with law enforcement
entities are challenging because leaks of planning and information by
corrupted officials have compromised past efforts," according to the
Oct. 10, 2009 document.

"Galvan (also) said that SEDENA's permanent deployment of two
officers to the El Paso Intelligence Center will help to disseminate
rapidly information to the Ciudad Juarez commander."

The military official conceded that the army has to get better at
responding more rapidly to the counter-drug intelligence it received,
and told Blair he welcomed any training the U.S. government has to offer.

SEDENA is the acronym for the Mexican Defense Secretary.

"Chapo Guzman has a sophisticated intelligence system that makes it
difficult for President Felipe Calderon to get him," former El Paso
Intelligence Center Director Phil Jordan said. "His security system
is comparable to the security systems used to protect some heads of
state in other parts of the world. It's costing him a lot in bribes,
but he wants to remain free and so money is no object."

Guzman remains free despite a $5 million reward for his captured
offered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration four years ago.
He was indicted on charges of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine, money
laundering and other federal charges.

Back in 1993, Guzman was arrested in Guatemala and handed to Mexican police.

"I grow corn and beans," Guzman told reporters when asked if he was a
drug smuggler.

Guzman was convicted of possession of cocaine and other drugs and
sentenced to 15 years in prison.

But in 2001, he escaped from a maximum security prison in Mexico,
feeding his mystique and a conspiracy theory that he was released by
the government in order to fight other cartels. He has been on the loose since.

Another U.S. diplomatic cable leaked by online whistleblower
WikiLeaks indicates that the DEA has a global intelligence network
that is gathering information beyond that of drug-trafficking.

Its monitoring capabilities are so well known that a Panamanian
official allegedly asked DEA to spy on his leftist political
opponents in Panama, a request that made the U.S. agency
uncomfortable, according to the U.S. document.

"Everything changed since 9-11," Jordan said. "We have no choice but
to use everything at our disposal to find terrorists. You cannot
separate the drug cartels from the terrorists because terrorism could
not flourish without money from the drug trade.

"But, even before 9-11, whenever DEA came across intel about murders,
kidnappings or other crimes, it would immediately share the
information with the appropriate agencies, such as FBI and others.
DEA would not sit on it just because it was not related to its
primary drug-enforcement mission."