The passing of the mother of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has been confirmed by a federal official in the state of Sinaloa. While acknowledging her death, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed his condolences to the family. Despite facing criticism for his visits to Badiraguato, Sinaloa, the hometown of the drug lord, López Obrador emphasized that every human being deserves respect and consideration upon their passing.
Local media reports indicate that Loera passed away at a private hospital in Culiacán, Sinaloa, which is associated with the cartel that her son once led. The hospital declined to comment on the matter. While she lived a quiet life, regularly engaging in religious activities, Loera gained attention when she met López Obrador during his visit to Badiraguato in 2020. She had also sought the president’s assistance in obtaining a visa to visit her son, who is currently serving a life sentence in the United States.
López Obrador asserted that he assisted her in the same way he would aid any mother seeking assistance for her child. In a letter dated March 2020, Loera, who asserted she was 92 years old at the time, appealed for her son’s repatriation to Mexico to fulfill his sentence. While López Obrador refrains from openly criticizing Mexico’s drug lords and their families, he implies that their involvement in criminal activities might be a result of limited opportunities. Nevertheless, he maintains the perspective that they deserve respect and consideration.
Jenaro Villamil, the head of Mexico’s state media agency, described Loera as a “simple woman from Sinaloa” who consistently denied that her son was the leader of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel.
Guzmán, during his time as the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, was involved in violent drug turf battles that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Mexicans. He famously escaped from Mexican prisons on two occasions, once through a mile-long tunnel that led to his cell. Following his extradition to New York, his three-month trial shed light on gruesome killings, political bribes, cocaine concealed in jalapeno cans, and guns adorned with jewels. He was ultimately convicted of operating a large-scale smuggling operation and is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado.
In the earlier part of this year, Mexico extradited Ovidio Guzmán López, one of Guzmán’s sons, to the United States to answer charges linked to drug trafficking, money laundering, and other criminal activities. Ovidio is suspected of leading the Sinaloa cartel’s initiatives in the production and distribution of fentanyl, a substance contributing to around 70,000 overdose fatalities annually in the United States.
