Mexico worries about scorn if another drug lord is released

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is worried that yet another shadowy release of a drug lord is about to make Mexico a target of international ridicule

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador worried Monday that yet another shadowy release of a drug lord is about to make Mexico a target of international ridicule. Almost eight years ago, drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero walked out of a Mexican prison late at night with an improperly ordered release. He has since returned to drug trafficking and unleashed bloody turf battles in northern Mexico border state of Sonora. On Saturday, another top capo of the Sinaloa cartel was about to walk in similar circumstances. Hector “El Güero” Palma was hours away from freedom after a judge’s secretary sent a letter — on a Saturday and national holiday — saying the government had to release him immediately after he was acquitted on organized crime charges.