El Chapo's Conviction Changed Everything and Nothing About the War on Drugs

That accusation was soon eclipsed by testimony that former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto solicited a $250 million bribe from Chapo and his partner Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.“It’s hard to say the Sinaloa cartel is weaker — it’s hard to put metrics to what that really means.”Perhaps García Luna, who was living a comfortable life in Miami when he was arrested and charged in the same Brooklyn court where Chapo was prosecuted, hoped his alleged corruption had simply gone overlooked. Chapo’s trial just cast a spotlight on that ugly truth for the first time in a U.S. courtroom.Mexico’s current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, campaigned on the slogan “Abrazos no balazos” or “Hugs not bullets,” promising to curb the ceaseless violence and root out corruption. LISTEN: "Chapo: Kingpin on Trial" for free, exclusively on Spotify.Ray Donovan, who oversaw the hunt for Chapo as the former chief of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, told me the botched Ovidio arrest is “indicative of the fact that the Sinaloa cartel is still there, and it is indicative of the fact that they still have millions of dollars at their disposal, and resources and men and manpower, and they are capable of continuing the drug trafficking business.” Now leading the DEA’s New York division, where he keeps one of Chapo’s trademark black baseball caps on display like a trophy behind his desk, Donovan argued that Chapo was the Sinaloa cartel’s “innovator” and said taking him out “changes how they have to continue to operate.” Chapo’s conviction, he said, “sent a message to every other cartel leader” that they, too, could eventually face justice in the U.S., but “it’s hard to say the Sinaloa cartel is weaker — it’s hard to put metrics to what that really means.”Last month, U.S. authorities found a tunnel that stretched for three-quarters of a mile from Tijuana to San Diego, equipped with an elevator, ventilation, and a rail cart to ferry drugs under the border. There's a need to hold these people accountable.”With Chapo out of the picture, American media and law enforcement have begun to hype a new Public Enemy No. 1, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho.” His Jalisco New Generation Cartel is on the ascent, reportedly flooding U.S. cities with meth while his henchmen commit gruesome acts of violence as they battle rivals in Mexico. Donovan called Mencho’s gang “the fast-growing cartel in Mexico, with global reach.” And he emphasized that the U.S. and Mexico are still working together to catch and extradite him and others: “When it’s all said and done, we’ll continue to pursue these individuals with our counterparts down there.”READ: From 'the Alcatraz of the Rockies' to the streets.Chapo’s trial was supposed to prove that the system works, to show that even the biggest, baddest kingpin can be captured, extradited, and convicted. His son, known as “Mini Lic,” is also in U.S. custody and cooperating with the feds, though last month Mexican authorities issued an arrest warrant for him because he’s suspected of the murder of a prominent Mexican journalist — an allegation that directly contradicts his father’s testimony during the trial.READ: The 10 wildest moments and stories from El Chapo's trial.The U.S Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn declined to comment when asked about the various deals given to the Chapo cooperators and their current whereabouts. In her first interview since the Chapo trial, Andrea Goldbarg, the original prosecutor in the case, told me the investigation, extradition, and conviction would not have been possible without help from cooperators.“We can do wiretaps, but in order to understand the day-to-day workings, the power structure, how they organize — that comes through people who were within the organization,” she said. When I pointed to the recent incident with Chapo’s son Ovidio in Culiacán and asked whether Mexico is really better off now that Chapo has been convicted, she defended the U.S. approach to the war on drugs, arguing that doing nothing — letting cartel leaders like Chapo remain free — would be an unacceptable alternative. That’s what we need to do, and we should continue to do it until this issue is resolved.” On the eve of Chapo’s trial, I interviewed Olivia and Mia Flores, the wives of twin brothers from Chicago who became high-level traffickers in the Sinaloa cartel. His wife recently appeared aboard a yacht on a reality-TV show called “Cartel Crew.” His daughter is hawking Chapo-brand beer and clothing in Mexico.I asked Chapo’s lead trial attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, how Chapo is holding up in prison.