Members of the National Guard are seen at a military check point after Mexican security forces captured Jose Antonio Yepez known as "El Marro" (The Mallet) in Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas
Members of the National Guard are seen at a military check point after Mexican security forces captured Jose Antonio Yepez known as "El Marro", a notorious drug gang leader in Guanajuato state, Mexico, August 2 , 2020. REUTERS / SERGIO MALDONADO

Security forces finally captured crime boss José Antonio Yépez, better known as El Marro, one of the most wanted men in Mexico on Sunday.

El Marro was a well-known drug gang leader and crime boss for fuel theft in Mexico. He was blamed for fanning a sharp surge in drug violence that tested the Mexican government.

Crime boss El Marro was arrested early on Sunday by soldiers and state officials in Mexico during a raid on a house in Guanajuato, reported Reuters. The state has seen record highs of gang violence, said authorities.

In the raid, the authorities also freed a kidnapped businesswoman and seized weapons across two houses. Eight other people, mostly believed gang members, were also at the two sites.

In recent months, police have come close to seizing the crime boss and had taken his mother and sister into custody, said a BBC report. Their arrests made him release a tearful video last month, where he said he was declaring war on the security forces. The women have been released since then.

According to the New York Times, his arrest landed a significant blow against a cartel that helped spur record violence as they struggle for control.

Following his arrest, law enforcement released low-resolution photos of his capture. They were eager to highlight the success in their campaign to fight organized crime.

Raul Benitez, a security expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) called the arrest a "tremendously successful blow for the government."

But it is not yet clear if the arrest of El Marro will make any changes in the violence that had been taking place in Mexico. There are also no clear signs of how it will affect organized crime on a broader scale.

Mexico analyst for the International Crisis Group, Falko Ernst, said this is a "short-lived P.R. victory" that does not give solutions. Ernst expressed worry that there will be no backing for a "more cohesive security strategy."

Stopping Violence in Mexico

When Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO, took office in 2018, he vowed to bring down record levels of violence. Yépez, 40, was the highest-profile narco arrested so far.

But the vow was not fulfilled as killings have only further increased and, last October, AMLO suffered serious shame when it failed in the detention of Ovidio Guzman, a son of kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

More than 31,000 people were murdered in 2019 alone, and thousands went missing. Few also signed up in the new national guard that AMLO vowed to create in their fight against violence.

AMLO vowed not to make arrests look like public spectacles, or he will tread the same path as Mexico's previous leaders. But Yépez's arrest seems to run the other way.

David Shirk, a University of San Diego political science professor, said this is AMLO's "desperate" need to show that he is doing something to keep his promise. "The fact is he just did something that he said he would never do. It's the same old playbook as before," Shirk said.

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