IN MARCH 2009 the Mexican government published a list of 37 men believed to be running drug gangs. The alleged bandits were named and rewards of up to 30m pesos ($2m) each were offered for their capture. The government’s normally stodgy official gazette listed the villains by their nicknames: Monkey, Beardy, Taliban and so on. It was a risky decision: the list could have become an embarrassment if its members had remained free.

But most have not. Three and a half years on, security forces have arrested 16 of them and killed seven. Two more have been murdered by rivals. That leaves just 12 at large—though among them is the leader of the Sinaloa “cartel”, Joaquín Guzmán (known as El Chapo or “Shorty”), who is the most wanted of all.

via Mexico’s drug lords: Kingpin bowling | The Economist.