Chapo Guzman More Powerful Than Chavez

The news that Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman had made this year's Forbes list of billionaires ruffled a lot of feathers in the Mexican government. Mexican president Felipe Calderon blasted the magazine's association of the drug baron with global business leaders, saying it gave unnecessary credibility and glamor to the ruthless drug business.

Mexican officials are sure to be even less happy now that Forbes' new ranking has El Chapo at #41 on their list of the World's Most Powerful People. Amazingly, El Chapo's placement puts him ahead of global heads of state such as Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, France's Nicolas Sarkozy and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

While the methodology of a power ranking like Forbes' is sure to be debated, it is interesting to note that today's Forbes list coincides with a request from civic and business groups in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez to bring UN peacekeepers to the border city.

Image Source: US Department of State
Online Sources: Yahoo! News, CNN, Forbes, AP