Ignacio Coronel Villarreal is described as one of the Sinaloa’s drug syndicates top three. Villarreal, known as “Nacho,” was believed to oversee the Siñaloa group’s operations in the western states of Colima, Nayarit, and Jalisco. He was killed after opening fire on law enforcement, closing in on his hideout in an upscale neighborhood of Guadalajara.
Beyond his prominence, Villarreal’s death may help blunt criticism that President Felipe Calderón’s “war on drugs” avoids cracking down on the Sinaloa cartel.
The elimination of Villarreal may headline Thursday’s news out of Mexico, but the arrest raid that resulted in his death also involved the arrest of 56 corrupt law enforcement officers in other parts of the country.
