Capturing El Chapo

The LA Times had a front page story today about the capture of Mexican [I'm paused here trying to think of a word other than 'drug lord' or 'drug kingpin'] pharmaceutical company CEO, Joaquin Guzman.   OK, I know that's a bit of a stretch, but drug companies in the US have a huge amount of sway over the government here, just as Mr. Guzman did in Mexico.  And they've got lots of people on lifetime commitments to their products.  They just do it in a more civilized manner and with incorporation papers and appropriate laws that make most of what they do legal.  And their compensation isn't that far behind Guzman's and they have a lot more respectability. 

For the record, here are two men from the top paid US CEO's from a 2011 Daily Mail article:

"The top spot is held by John Hammergren, 52, the CEO of pharmaceutical company McKesson who earned a salary of $131.2million and a net total income, which includes bonuses and profits from stock earnings, of $1.2billion. And that's not all: Mr Hammergren's company stands to expand if President Obama's health care program is enacted due to increased contracts. . .

Number 8: Stephen Hemsley

CEO of UnitedHealth Group, Health care
Compensation: $48.8million
Net Income: $4.93billion"

Whoa!  Where did that come from?  All I intended here was to point folks to a documentary about Guzman that I posted Feb. 14.  I was giving an example of what you could find on Documentary Heaven, and it was the only one I had actually watched. 

It will fill in a lot more details of this person's life, the incredible wealth (they found $200 million in cash when they raided his palace), and how he ruled with a mix of carrot and stick.  And, most certainly, his organization uses the same methods here in the US.  If you were a judge and you were offered to have your debts taken care of for your help and this offer also included pictures of your kids and grand kids if you don't help, you surely would pause before making a decision.

Anyway, I thought I'd redirect folks to the video, now that his name is back on the front pages. 

The LA Times article both says the arrest is significant and that it will have no affect on the operations of the Sinaloa drug cartel.