Joaquin Guzman, the alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel His interests include going for walks, reading the Bible, sharing a meal with loyal friends

20:57 head of the Gulf Cartel of Mexico , Hi , I am Osiel Cardenas Guillen 0 Comments

Mexican outlaws knew they'd reached a special level of notoriety when countrymen penned ballads bragging of their exploits.Now, they get MySpace pages.A new breed of crime fan is turning to the Web to humanize drug capos and glorify their deeds.
MySpace is home to the most extravagant tributes, but lower-profile pages have also been created on the rival Facebook. In most cases, profiles are written as though the drug boss himself is the profile creator.Facebook officials said they don't allow profiles that endorse criminal activity, but see pages as forums for discussion.MySpace declined to comment. Tributes posted there include music, photos, videos and messages support, even wishes for a happy holiday season.There are also blunt threats, as well as advertisements for Texas criminal-defense attorneys.
Often straightforward language offers a Sopranos-like look at gangsters who are a blend of Al Capone and Robin Hood.They are despised by many Mexicans, but also respected by some for defying authority and climbing out of poverty.
Joaquin Guzman, the alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel — the most powerful syndicate in Mexico — notes the Drug Enforcement Administration is on his trail, but that he is keeping a positive attitude.
Known as "El Chapo," which means shorty, Guzman also says he is a Capricorn, a proud parent and that his sexual orientation is straight. His interests include going for walks, reading the Bible, sharing a meal with loyal friends and killing.Another page notes how much he pays the people around him, how he is always on the move and constantly changing cell phones to avoid detection.Although some of the information matches his FBI wanted poster, it is highly unlikely Guzman, who is perhaps the most hunted man in Mexico, established the page.Experts contend pages are more likely concocted by a Web-savvy younger generation, perhaps teenagers, trying to gain entrance into the lowest echelons of the gangs."Some Mexicans, especially poor, young Mexican men actually admire the wealth, machismo and success of these capos — dead or alive or in jail — no matter how bloody their hands may be," said Bruce Bagley, chairman of the Department of International Studies at the University of Miami."Money, power, violence and mayhem always attracts attention," Bagley said. "These guys are lauding the Robin Hood image; it is in a way what norteño music did in a previous era: it creates an aura around them."
Guzman's reputed cartel rival, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, who was handed over to the United States by Mexico nearly two years ago and faces a coming trial in Houston, also has a few MySpace pages in his honor."Hi, I am Osiel Cardenas Guillen, head of the Gulf Cartel of Mexico," reads an introduction. "Before I was a mechanic and also was a policeman, but, well, things change," it continues.Another profile notes that he likes ranchera music, watches the news to keep up with what is happening with his cartel, and that he hopes to one day kill Guzman and meet former Mexican President Vicente Fox.Being Cardenas' Web friend might be sticky as he is also known by a nickname that translates as friend killer.DEA spokesman David Ausiello said the agency has taken notice of online tributes and monitors the Web."It is difficult to find out who is putting this information on the Internet," he said. "Are they people with intimate knowledge of the organizations or people who are just interested and watching from afar?"Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said after the Houston Chronicle pointed out the drug boss profiles to him that the company would look into some and would likely disable any that are fake."If the users want to create a page or a group that celebrates these individuals, that would probably be allowed as long as the pages didn't show or promote drug use or violence," he said.An 18-year-old from California is among several people who posting messages on the sites."What a drag dude," he writes in a message in Spanish to Cardenas. "Hold on, you'll be out soon."