Arrest of a drug kingpin and its potential fallout

On Tuesday this week, law enforcement in El Salvador arrested José Adán Salazar Umaña known as "El Chepe Diablo" the reputed leader of the Texis Cartel in El Salvador.

The arrests were reported in InsightCrime by Héctor Silva Ávalos who has been reporting for several years on Chepe Diablo's ability to avoid justice:

El Salvador's Attorney General's Office arrested José Adán Salazar Umaña, alias "Chepe Diablo," the alleged leader of the Texis Cartel, the most important drug trafficking and money laundering organization in the country. The arrest raises new questions about the links between Salazar Umaña and powerful politicians in El Salvador, including current Vice President Óscar Ortiz. 

Salazar Umaña was arrested at noon on April 4 during a police operation that involved raids on some 50 properties, including hotels, gas stations and shops that either belong to Chepe Diablo or his associates. According to the authorities, the companies were used by the Texis Cartel to evade taxes or launder money that came from illegal activities.
Attorney General Douglas Meléndez said three of Salazar Umaña's relatives were also arrested. The other suspected leaders of the organization, however, remain fugitives from justice. 

On the morning of April 5, the director of the National Civil Police (Policia Nacional Civil - PNC) confirmed that two main suspects evaded capture during the operation: Juan Umaña Samayoa, the mayor of the northwestern town of Metapán, and Wilfredo Guerra, the president of the Gumarsal grain company that has been linked to Chepe Diablo's business network.

Chepe Diablo had managed to stay free up to this point because of a network of powerful connections.   One of those connections was former attorney general Luis Martinez who buried the investigation and even prosecuted the police who were investigating the businessman.

But many other prominent politicians from the right and the left were on good terms with Salazar Umaña.  The periodical LaPagina ran a series of photos yesterday showing Salazar Umaña with current vice president Oscar Ortiz, former vice president Ana Vilma de Escobar, former president Tony Saca, and former minister of tourism Rubén Rochi.

Oscar Ortiz and Salazar Umaña at a soccer match together

Ortiz has been linked in a business partnership named Desarollos Montecristo with Salazar Umaña, which is reportedly being investigated as part of the overall network of the Salvadoran businessman.  For his part, Ortiz expressed confidence in the attorney general and asserted that his relationships with Salazar Umaña were simply social or personal, but that as as public official he had no business or partnership with the reputed drug cartel leader.