A WOMAN known as the “Kim Kardashian of organised crime” may instigate a
brutal and bloody gang war in the wake of last week’s arrest of drug king
pin Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.
The glamorous bikini-and-stilettos clad Claudia Ochoa Felix heads the ruthless
hit squad Los Ántrax but drug policy experts fear she could attempt to take
El Chapo’s place.
Felix is known for posting provocative photographs to social media. In one,
her sons are pictured surrounded by piles of cash. In another, she
brandishes an AK47 like a fashion accessory.
Felix’s Twitter account, which hasn’t been used since 2014, largely shows her
with her three children, while her Instagram account is private and many
posts have since been deleted.
No stranger to a selfie, the mother-of-three was thrust into the spotlight
after incorrect reports emerged that she can been tortured and killed.
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Felix, who reportedly denies she is La Emperatriz de Los Ántrax, or the
Empress of anthrax, was installed as leader of the group following the
arrest of boyfriend and former boss, Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, The
Mirror reported.
However it’s the potential power vacuum left by Guzman which some experts fear
could lead to a brutal and deadly drug war.
Gunman was arrested last Friday in Los Mochis, a seaside city in his
northwestern home state of Sinaloa.
Officials said Guzman’s “almost obsessive” desire to see actor Kate Del
Castillo contributed to his recapture.
Guzman, 58, left his mountain hide-out because troops were circling him, but
his hope of seeing her again also led him to the city.
The drug lord had been on the run for more than six months after escaping from
maximum-security facility Altiplano Prison on July 11.
If he stays in the Mexican prison, it is believed it will be business as usual
as he will run the cartel from behind bars.
But if the US succeeds in having him extradited, which could potentially take
months, it could cause an internal battle to claim power.
In a blog post for the Houston Chronicle, Drug policy expert and Mexico crime
author Nathan Jones said: “If Guzman is extradited, he could lose
significant operational control over proxies, which could adversely impact
internal Sinaloa cartel cohesion.
“It is possible sub-networks such as Los Antrax or the Gente Nueva (enforcer
paramilitary apparatuses) could potentially break free and into internecine
conflict with the Sinaloa Cartel.”
Los Ántrax is the much-feared assassin wing of the Sinaloa Cartel.
In 2014, Felix reportedly addressed rumours about her apparent involvement in
the cartel during a press conference in her hometown of Culiacan, Sinaloa
state, according to Vice.
“My children are being subjected to bullying, my mother is suffering from
anxiety, and I am devastated and without peace, and now my physical
integrity is threatened,” she said.
She claimed it wasn’t her in a large majority of the photos and asked
authorities to look at investigating who was running the accounts.