A Top Drug Cartel Operative Captured
By: Big 2 News Staff
Updated: December 27, 2011
Felipe Cabrera Sarabia was arrested friday in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
According to Mexican officials, Cabrera was in charge of security for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in the Mexican state of Durango and the southern part of Chihuaha.
According to Mexican Army General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Cabrera was also a major figure in drug-trafficking operations for the Sinaloa Cartel:
"The violence that Cabrera Sarabia used to maintain control of his criminal activities was a factor that helped him become more important within the organization of "El Chapo" Guzman. He was a key operative [in the organization's] drug trafficking activities and even became responsible for providing security to this drug lord in his area of operation in the mountains of Durango."
Cabrera is one of several top lieutenants in the Sinaloa Cartel who have helped Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman elude authorities since 2001, when he escaped a federal prison in Mexico.
He made the list of the world's most powerful people published by Forbes Magazine, with a fortune estimated at one billion dollars.
The U.S. Government is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture and Guzman is also the most wanted man in Mexico.
Guzman has been indicted in the United States under charges including conspiracy to import cocaine and money laundering among others.
Federal officials say he has been active in Mexican criminal organizations since the 1980s.

