the computer forecast shows wind and rain across the southwest. dave warren thank you very much. and thank each and every one of you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. ♪ taking down the ceo of one of both sides of the border, for more than a decade, the order was get shorty, now they have. joaquin guzman is in jail. taking down the ceo of one of the world's most powerful cartels is the inside story. ♪ hello, i'm ray suarez.

the bootlegging millionaires of the 20th century could only dream of the kind of empires created by the drug cartel in the 21st. whether you smuggling whiskey or heroin that part stayed the same. putting joaquin guzman in a cell hasn't unravelled his empire in the past. whether that is different this time around is this edition of the program. let's begin with a look at the weekend arrest. it was an inglorious end for the legendary drug lord. he was walked before cameras and then marched off to jail.

his capture early saturday morning was the dramatic end to a 13-year manhunt. a search that intensified in the last two weeks. he was captured by mexican marines with the help of american agents. he was asleep in his room with an ak-47 by his side, but no shots were fired. guzman, called shorty, is the world's most wanted drug lord. the mastermind behind a criminal drug production and smuggling enterprise moved tons of cocaine, marijuana, and other illegal drugs over the border and on to american streets as well as to other neighs. >> translator: i think that it's something very good. it's an excellent achievement from this government who are giving us results. not just for mexico but for many

countries it is an important arrest. >> it is known as one of the most ruthless drug cartels. the capture of el chapo would have a major impact around the world. >> translator: several homes which he used were discovered and in several of those homes we discovered it was connected by several tunnels to several homes. and he often used the city's drainage system. >> his elusiveness is legendary. after he was centered to 20 years in prison back in 1993, his legend grew when he escaped a high security prison in 2001. with the help of millions of dollars in bribes, he escaped by hiding in a laundry van his

arrest is seen as a political triumph for the president who took over in 2012. behind the effort is a security cooperation agreement between the mexico and u.s., a more than $2 billion aid program that started in 2008, it includes weapons training. still hundreds of thousands of mexicans are estimated to have been caught in the war. in recent years many top syndicate members have been arrested or kills. eric holder says . . . the u.s. had a $5 million bounty

on guzman's head. the united states wants to extradite him for crimes he allegedly committed in the united states. he faces charges in new york, chicago, miami and texas. mexico's attorney general has not commented on the possibility of extradition, meanwhile though the head is behind bars tonight, the organization is not out of business, and it is not the only cartel in mexico to supply america's enormous appetite for drugs. for more now on the arrest of joaquin el chapo guzman, we're joined by adam rainy in mexico city. today he was if i recally charged, what are the counts? >> well, really it's one charge, and it's for breaking mexico's

drug f trafficking laws. and that's significant. it is showing the u.s. it has registered a charge, but they haven't decided to file many charges against them. we don't know if he is going to lay on a lot of other charges pending against him. if they were do so, that would be a signal that this man is probably not going to be leaving mexico any time soon. >> what has the government had to say to the people of mexico. >> he was speaking early, it is flag day here, and he gave a very patriotic speech, and he said we really shouldn't gloat over this, this just shows we're an effective government. and he said that every decision that his government has made is meant to make the lives of mexicans better. he of course probably behind

closed doors is gloating a lot saying we brought down the guy that the past president couldn't. so he's juggling a political act to try to convince mexicans that they are safer, but it is not clear if they are buying the story. >> there was a lot of concern in the united states during the transition of the administrations whether the new government would keep the pressure on the drug cartels. is this one way of the still new president cementing his reputation in that regard. >> well, we're getting those signals. you are getting a lot of statements from people like eric holder, and other officials saying this shows great cooperation between mexico and the u.s., and this comes months after there was a lot of cold relations being formed in the early days of the president when

they shut out the u.s. in ways that other administrations hadn't. and that seemed to make u.s. officials extremely angry and frosty to this government. but at least on the surface we're getting evidence that this was a coordinated arrest. they are saying look, this is a great show of cooperation. whether this is going to continue if some of these u.s. attorneys push hard for extradition, that could become a politically sensitive area. >> does mexico have some more credibility to be gained when it comes to trying and holding chopo guzman? let's not forget the last time they imprisoned him, they let

him go. >> yeah, this is the delima for this go. one, they want to show we're a new effective government, but they are also dealing with an extremely corrupt and massive sprawling bureaucracy in these prisons. so what they are going to do to try to keep this man behind bars is still not clear, but they could still consider an extradition process, but would be bad press for this government. they want to say we caught this man, and we're going to keep him and charge him at least here, and maybe down the road we'll extradite him but for now he is our guy. >> adam good to talk to you. >> thank you. we're going to take a short

break, and when we come back, we'll take a look at what this means for mexico, law enforcement,er for us-mexico relations and for the president.

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>> welcome back, to "inside story." i'm ray suarez. on this edition of the program welcome back to "inside story." i'm ray suarez. on this edition of the program. we're talking about the arrest of joaquin guzman. joining us now to discuss what this arrest means for mexico and the fight against organized drug trade, an assist important professor of international service, where he is focused on us-mexican cooperation in law enforcement. from mexico city, director of security studies at the institute for mexican competitiveness. he is a former mexican

intelligence officer, and has a blog about drugs and crime in mexico. and john torres, managing director of guide post solutions, special agent in charge for homeland security investigation in d.c. and virginia at the u.s. immigration and customs enforcement agency. i would like to hear from a mexican whether this is a big deal or not? >> it is a huge deal for a number of reasons. ethically this is tremendous because this guy was the face of mexican impunity in so many ways. this guy had mocked the mexican institutions, the mexican justice system for years. so bringing him back i think is a powerful signal that i think to some extent impunity has some

limits. and it is a blow to the largest, most sophisticated criminal organization in mexico, and it pushes the transition towards smaller, more local, less soft us indicated gangs. i think that transition has been going on for a while, and will accelerate that process. and politically this is huge -- this is a significant for the president. he can claim -- he can, one, give a message of effectiveness, and two, he can put to rest the notion that somehow his administration was trying to re -- re-kindl the old style -- the old corrupt pact when the pri, his party, and the narco traffickers. >> other number ones have been caught or killed in the past,

and their organizations have simply l rolled on. maybe there is a power struggle or more killing that goes on around the top, but the product still moves. is a kilo less of cocaine going to reach the united states as a result of this arrest? this >> you may see less in the short-term because there will be a struggle to replace the loss of guzman and his senior lieutenants and security aids that were arrested. but also when we do large operations in law enforcement, what we see happen is everyone goes underground in the beginning. they lay low. they wait to see who will be next. so you will some short-term impact, but then you'll go back to supply and demand.

>> but isn't there also so much capital, you might say already extended in the form of trucks and soldiers and politicians on the take, and supply line, and product that has already been acquired that it is going to go somewhere? >> yes. but again within that pipeline there will be a little bit of wait and see and find out where american law enforcement who are they targeting now? are they targeting people in chicago? new york? down at the border in texas and arizona? and the notorious drug routes that we see running from the border up to the united states. >> daniel snyder one interesting feature is the openness with which the mexican and u.s. governments are discussing the shared nature of operation.

there is no fear of stepping on mexican toes. what does that reflect? a more confident mexico? >> this is a significant indication that at the operational level improved cooperation and trust. at the senior level there has been tension which sometimes has become public, and real concerns on the american side about whether the new administration has been serious about going after the drug organizations, but at the local level, cooperation is close and continuing. >> and is there a sign that there's no -- oh i don't know -- inferiority complex at work here. that both sides can openly talk about what they did together to

bring chopo guzman down without feeling like, oh, no, here come the big shoes from the north again. >> i'm not sure if this is a strategic design or the fact that the whole story was leaked by u.s. agencies. in other takedowns this year, mexican officials had been adamant that it had been a fully domestic operation. and down played u.s. involvement. not so much this time, my guess because the story broke in the us. my guess because it was impossible to deny that the dea has played a role, but i'm not sure this is what the mexican government would have wanted to communicate if it had had a choice. >> what is the interest on this

side of the border in getting chapo guzman. >> i would look at chicago and see what happens in chicago in the next several months. several years ago he decided to makes mexico the base of distribution for the united states. he took out the middleman so his product would go from mexico up to the chicago met pal area. as a result we saw tremendous increase in drug activity in chicago. so that's where i would be looking. >> john torres was this guy an innovator? when you hear about daniel snyder talk about ways of cutting out the middleman? was he taking the state-of-the-art forward in

being a drug kingpin? >> he was, but he still had to rely on some of the old networks that were operating out of mexico so he could continue to have that strangle hold. so as he was becoming more state-of-the-art. maybe using different types of technology that challenged u.s. law enforcement in in cooperation with the mexican -- their partners down in mexico, to stay one step ahead or try to keep up with the technology, and ultimately that took us to where we are today. >> we're going to take a short break. americans have looked on in horror for years over mexicans battle to sell drugs. ica

welcome back to "inside story." ♪ welcome back to "inside story." i'm ray suarez.

mexican drug lord joaquin guzman had a $5 million bounty on his head in the united states. he has been indicted in new york, chicago, miami, and texas. there is no word on whether mexican authorities would ever extradite him to the united states to face charges. we're continuing our conversation on the impact of his arrest, the drug trade, and the relationship between mexico and the united states. john was there a moment when the united states chose supply reduction over demand reduction as a part of national policy. >> i can think back to 2009 where we had a drug summit. and ice was represented, and we sat down and talked about how we were going to focus on reducing

violence, and drug flow, and the money across the border in cooperation with mexican counterparts, and we really made it a point back then to work together very closely with our mexican counterparts. and i think that was a watershed moment looking back, saying this is going to be a big priority. where quite frankly since 9/11 the focus had been on terror and terror networks, and while this was still ongoing in the background, and it really took a front seat. >> is there a resentment in mexico that there's the hunger for these substances that is destabilizing mexico that it is really americans that are giving mexico a drug problem? >> there is something to in the sense that tomorrow magically u.s. drug demand were to stop

indeed that would lead to reduction of the drug trade in mexico, but i think that's somewhat of a cop out by mexico. turkey is the springboard for about 75% of heroin reaching the european market. or look at -- look at place like morocco, more -- morocco, large springboard for cocaine. so the notion that most of our problems with driven by the drug trade and if that could just magically disappear, i think that is a simplifying assumption. at the end of the day, mexico

doesn't have a drug problem, it has a state capacity problem, and we need to deal with that. >> is this a stronger mexico that is taking this hit today? >> i think this does show stronger more effective mexican institutions. certain institutions. certainly not all institutions. about a year and a half ago when i was in mexico city, there was a joke going around that the united states intelligence agencies would give intelligence tips to the mexico authorities. they go back and conduct an operation, and came back always, and said escape to the back door. the joke was there was no spanish word for surround. but we see mexicans that are capable of carrying out complex multi-agency by-national operations without word leaking out, and that's significant.

>> during the campaign, the president was very critical of president calderon's war on drugs, the decision to use the security forces inside the country to target the cartels. he said he would take a different approach but still keep pressure on. does he done it? >> well, he took the position that he would not change the strategy, but do adjustments. and to that extent he has fulfilled that promise. there, indeed some things are new. most significanting can'tly deacon sen trags and decision making within the ministry of the interior, but some of the key components, most significantly the use of armed forces for law enforcement

purposes. most significantly a continued kingpin strategy, and also the constant use of -- of federal troops to impose law and order in -- around the country. that is still going on and there is no signs that that will change any time soon. >> gentlemen, i want quick impressions on whether this new, improved relationship points to joaquin guzman ever setting foot on american soil to stand trial. what do you think? >> quick opinion i think there's a possibility. >> and what has to happen? >> i think there will be request for extradition, and extradition might be granted on the condition that he return to serve what is likely to be a life sentence in mexico. >> multiple jurisdictions in the united states are already saying

no, we want him. how does that get refereed inside our own justice system. >> it doesn't get refereed well. as i said i don't know if we will ever really get him back. i think it is likely he will serve the rest of his life in a mexican prison. >> and how long will this take? the >> a long time and maybe not until the next administration. >> daniel snyder, john torres, alejandro lope, thank you all. thank for being with us. the program may be over, but the conversation continues. we want to hear what you think about the issues on this or any day's show. log on to our facebook page, send us your thoughts on twitter, or you can reach me direct i will at ray suarez

news. we'll see you next time in washington. i'm ray suarez. ♪ welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. the debate over same-sex marriage taking center stage in michigan, while they protest a gay right's bill in arizona. >> i really don't feel like i have any other choice. >> a look at the silent army across america who are caring for the aging loved ones in the nation. plus why some syrian