Mexican police on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of a man suspected to be the biggest producer of illegal synthetic drug methamphetamine for the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel.
The suspect, identified as Jaime Herrera, was detained along with an alleged accomplice in a raid carried out in in Culiacan in Sinaloa state. Police said a huge cache of drugs, guns and radios were recovered in the operation.
Jamie Herrera, alias "The Old Man," is alleged to have close ties with Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, who is Mexico's most wanted drug lord. Herrera is also wanted in the United States on charges linked to drug trafficking. His arrest is considered to be a major blow to the Sinaloa cartel.
"It is a powerful blow because Jaime Herrera was one of the main producers of methamphetamine, or ice. With the monthly production he had, he was a strong generator of money for the organization," Federal Police anti-drug chief Ramon Pequeno said.
The Sinaloa cartel, based in Mexico's Pacific coast, is currently one of the most powerful organized criminal gangs in the Americas. Cartel leader Guzman has been on the run since he escaped from a Mexican prison ten years ago.
Last year, the Forbes magazine had included Guzman in its list of the world's richest men, reportedly worth more than $1 billion. He is believed to be hiding in the mountains in the northern state of Durango. The United States had declared a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
The Sinaloa cartel is presently engaged in a fierce turf battle with the Juarez cartel led by Vicente Carrillo Fuentes for the control of lucrative smuggling routes to the United States. The two cartels are blamed for most of the recent drug-related violence in Chihuahua and other northern States.
The development comes just days after Mexican troops seized 15 tons of pure methamphetamine in the country's western state of Jalisco. It is estimated that the seized methamphetamine cache is worth more than $4 billion if sold in the United States.
Mexican officials say the manufacture of methamphetamine has increased in the country in recent years. Authorities blame heavy demand for the drug in the United States for its increased production in Mexico, from where it is smuggled to the US by drug cartels.
Mexico is currently struggling to contain the violence unleashed by rival drug cartels, mainly in the northern states, as they fight each other to for the control of lucrative smuggling routes to the United States.
The Mexican government says that more than 47,500 people have died in drug-related violence in the country since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug gangs after taking office in December 2006.
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Market Analysis
December 26, 2025 08:42 ET Third quarter economic growth data from some major economies including the U.S. were the main news in this holiday shortened week. GDP growth and industrial production data from the U.S. helped to boost morale, while the consumer confidence survey results were less upbeat. In Europe, the quarterly economic growth data from the U.K. drew attention, while the minutes of the Australian central bank’s latest policy session was in focus in Asia.