"Death and destruction are central to their whole operation," DEA chief Anne Milgram Milgram said Friday, calling the Chapitos and the global network they operate "a network that fuels violence and death on both sides of the border." El Chapo, the Sinaloa cartel's founder, is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado after being convicted in 2019 on charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons-related offenses. In January, El Chapo sent an "SOS" message to Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, alleging that he has been subjected to "psychological torment" in prison.