A daughter of famed drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and several Mexican cartels have been handing out aid packages to help cash-strapped residents during the pandemic.
Edward Baran reports.
El Chapo's daughter, Mexican cartels hand out aid
Aid packages being distributed in Mexico's second largest city Guadalajara.
The pictures on the boxes are of famed drug local Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman - the former drug cartel chief who's now in a maximum security U.S. prison.
His daughter Alejandrina is handing out the supplies via her company "El Chapo 701." The boxes contain oil, sugar, rice and other essential items. The company's CEO is Julio Campos.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CEO OF 'EL CHAPO 701', JULIO CAMPOS, SAYING: "If we sacrifice our gross profit on each product, we can help.
We are not going to suffer.
We will be able to refill our merchandise and people will receive our help.
This is just the beginning, We know the curve of this pandemic is just starting.
For Mexico June is going to be super difficult and we are going to continue to help." Active members of cartels have also been courting publicity, with videos on social media showing gang members providing succour to local residents.
Famed for brutality, the cartels also have a history of trying to win over hearts and minds of impoverished communities where they operate.
Mexico's economy has been battered by the pandemic, and many are struggling to make ends meet as the country heads into its harshest recession in living memory The El Chapo 701 brand gets its name from a Forbes listing in 2009 that ranked him the 701st richest person in the world at the time -- with a net worth of $1 billion.
"El Chapo" was extradited to the U.S. in 2017 and found guilty last year on a host of drug trafficking charges.