If the Mexican cartel boss is extradited to face charges in the US, selfie-loving Claudia Ochoa Felix could make a power grab for the resulting vacuum
Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman was captured on Friday following a gunfight with Mexican cops after six months on the run.
And if the 58-year-old Sinaloa Cartel boss is extradited to the US, gangland experts believe other drug lords could make a power grab for the resulting vacuum.
One of those is selfie-loving Claudia Ochoa Felix , the head of their ruthless hit squad Los Ántrax, known as the Kim Kardashian of crime because of her curves and social media addiction.
Instagram / claudiaafelixx
Instagram / claudiaafelixx
Now El Chapo is back behind bars, the big question is whether the drug lord will be sent to America.
If he is left in Mexico, the Sinoloa Cartel will be able to carry on as normal, with Guzman running things from behind the scenes, it is believed.
The cartel's number two - Ismael Zambada García, known as El Mayo - is still at large and will take the reigns.
Instagram / claudiaafelixx
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But his extradition could well spark a deadly internal gang war with splinter groups such as Los Antrax gunning for power.
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."
Mexican Prison Authority
Felix was installed as boss after her boyfriend and former head of the group, Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, was arrested.
The mother-of-three gained notoriety after it was wrongly reported she had been tortured and assassinated.
The victim was, in fact, Yurina Castillo Torres, a former girlfriend of Gamboa who looked remarkably like Felix.
Instagram / claudiaafelixx
She wasted no time capitalising her notoriety via a flood of incriminating pictures of her in stilettos, caressing her custom-made pink AK-47 automatic rifle.
The pouting femme fatale is also seen reclining among masked men and propping a deadly M16 assault rifle on her tiny hips.
As news emerged of her rise to power she was quick to delete as much evidence as she could linking her to the gang.
Now she emphatically denies she is La Emperatriz de Los Ántrax - the Empress of Los Ántrax.
Either way, Dr Jones believes it is likely that her boss will stay caged in Mexico.
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Read more: Video of El Chapo's safehouse reveals sophisticated tunnel network which helped him evade capture
If he is extradited, warfare could break out.
Dr Jones told the Mirror Online: "These groups are currently enforcers, contracted in by the cartel.
"But the fear is they could see Guzman's arrest as an opportunity.
"Another danger is Los Zeta, an extremely violent cartel who again started life as enforcers.
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"They could also start a war with the Sinaloa cartel."
The report suggests any future arrest of El Mayo could be more important than that of El Chapo.
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In his report, he adds: "Many of El Mayo’s sons have been arrested and extradited to or captured in the US.
"This weakens his succession mechanisms and could be an indication that El Mayo’s arrest might be more significant to the Sinaloa Cartel than Chapo’s.
Read more: El Chapo's cartel henchman slain in final stand lie slumped and bloodied in gruesome aftermath images
"If El Mayo is arrested after having lost too many of his sons to arrest and US extradition, that could lead to more internal fragmentation within the Sinaloa Cartel network.
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"In this sense, the government targeting of drug trafficking organization leadership figures might not have had the desired effect of making them more manageable.
"Instead...it might have created more violent fragmented networks that increase overall levels of violence."
Despite the high profile of Felix, Dr Jones says her boyfriend could still be pulling the strings.
He said: "I am skeptical about how much power she actually has.
Instagram / claudiaafelixx
"Even the law enforcement agencies are confused, because on bugged phones women will make calls pretending to be Claudia, and vice versa.
"I would love to see the contents of the extradition document - and how much of his billions will Guzman have to give up for a plea bargain?
"But either way things are going to get interesting."
Dr Jones' new book, Mexico's Illicit Drug Networks and the State Reaction, is published on March 26 and is available on Amazon .
Culled from Mirror
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