Source: BBC News, Mexico City
Forbes magazine's latest list of the world's billionaires includes Mexico's most wanted man - Joaquin Guzman.
The 54-year-old, who is said to be the head of one of Mexico's most powerful drug cartels, is 701st on the list with an estimated fortune of $1bn (£722m).
Mr Guzman, who escaped from a Mexican prison on 2001, is understood to be at large in Mexico or Central America.
Mexican officials blame much of the recent violence in the north of the country on Mr Guzman.
'Charismatic'
Forbes estimates that last year Mexican and Colombian traffickers made between $18bn (£13bn) and $39bn (£28bn).
Mr Guzman's slice of that pie comes from his assumed control of the Sinaloa cartel, which is named after the Mexican state in which it is based.
For over a year the Sinaloa Cartel has been trying to oust a rival gang from the border city of Ciudad Juarez; the turf war has left more than 2,000 people dead.
Those who have met Mr Guzman, who stands at just 5 feet tall (152cm), describe him as a man of extraordinary charisma and intelligence.
In 2001, he escaped from a Mexican jail in a laundry truck, having apparently charmed, and bribed the entire prison staff.
His wedding in 2007 to his 18-year-old wife was so heavily guarded that the Mexican army did not attempt to arrest the groom.
Mr Guzman is not the first alleged drug runner to have made it into the illustrious ranks of the Forbes list of billionaires.
In 1989, Colombia's Pablo Escobar was ranked the 7th richest man in the world, with $25bn (£18bn) to his name.
There is no sign that global drug consumption is falling. And as long as the demand remains, fortunes will be made.
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Chrysler threatens to pull out of Canada
SHAWN MCCARTHY AND GREG KEENAN
SOURCE: GLOBE AND MAIL
MARCH 11, 2009
OTTAWA AND TORONTO — Chrysler LLC threatened last night to pull the company's production out of Canada – a move that would throw 9,000 employees out of work – unless governments here provide $2.3-billion (U.S.) in loans and its Canadian union agrees to slash labour costs by 25 per cent.
At a parliamentary committee hearing last night, Chrysler president Thomas LaSorda said the company would commit to maintaining roughly a quarter of its North American production in Canada if its “needs” are met.
“The current success and long-term viability of Chrysler's manufacturing operations in Canada is very much dependent on three critical factors,” said the Detroit-based executive, who grew up four blocks from the firm's Windsor plant where his father, Frank, worked and was union president.
“Chrysler LLC cannot afford to manufacture products in a jurisdiction that is uncompetitive relative to other automotive jurisdictions.”
Mr. LaSorda said that in addition to the government loans and an agreement by the Canadian Auto Workers to dramatically reduce labour costs, the company requires a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency saying it will seek no more cash or collateral in its continuing tax fight with the company.
The federal government asserts Chrysler paid more than $1-billion in taxes in the U.S. that should have been paid in Canada and has placed a $500-million lien on its Brampton, Ont., plant and withheld $300-million in tax rebates pending an arbitrated settlement.
Asked by an MP whether the company has the ability to move production, Mr. LaSorda noted Chrysler recently closed a minivan plant in St. Louis, which could reopen to take production from Windsor, which makes the same model. He said models currently being made – or planned for – its Brampton plant could be moved to the U.S. or Mexico.
CAW president Ken Lewenza called Mr. LaSorda's threats “blackmail.”
“He's obviously blackmailing the Canadian government for Canadian jobs and he's obviously blackmailing the Canadian Auto Workers,” said Mr. Lewenza, who began working in the Chrysler minivan plant himself as a teenager and was once president of the same Windsor union local that Mr. LaSorda's father led.
However, Mr. LaSorda said he did not intend to issue threats but to provide a clear picture of the company's challenges.
“The bottom line is we needed to be very, very clear – ambiguity doesn't help the process,” the auto executive told reporters after the meeting. “These are things that Chrysler needs ... we know they can be addressed. The sooner the better, and we'll be here for a long time once they are addressed.”
He noted Chrysler plans to invest $1-billion in Brampton and several hundred millions of dollars in Windsor if it gets the assistance from government and unions that it is seeking. He added, however, that the Windsor van plant is already “highly profitable.”
Chrysler last month surpassed General Motors to post the highest sales of any auto maker in Canada – the first time it has achieved that ranking.
The company, which is controlled by Connecticut-based private equity fund Cerberus Capital Partners, has asked the U.S. government for $9-billion (U.S.) in loans to keep it operating as North American car sales have cratered. The company said it has a plan to survive the downturn, including a proposed merger with Italy's Fiat SpA, but needs the assistance of government, its workers, suppliers and creditors.
Mr. LaSorda said Chrysler's Canadian labour costs are $75 (Canadian) an hour per worker – including wages and benefits for both active workers and retirees – and need to be cut by $20 an hour to be competitive with American and foreign car makers in the United States.
He said a cost-cutting agreement that the CAW struck with General Motors of Canada Ltd. – which GM's workers approved last night with 87 per cent in favour – is not sufficient for Chrysler.
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