Did Mexican drug lords really put a bounty on Sheriff Joe Arpaio?

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last updated 8 January 2015

Arizona's notoriously tough and media-savvy Sheriff Joe Arpaio says Mexican drug cartels have put a $1 million bounty on his head, presumably for his trademark sweeps for illegal immigrants in Latino areas of Maricopa County. The threat was delivered via a slightly garbled text message, reportedly from a disposable cell phone in Mexico. Is this death threat against a U.S. law officer a dangerous escalation of Mexico's spreading drug war, or a publicity stunt? (Watch a local report about the alleged threat)

This smells like a stunt: "This is just the latest supposed threat against Arpaio," says James King in the Phoenix New Times, and like the others, it's mostly about Arpaio's need to be in the spotlight. It's not a coincidence that a week-old story about a barely credible death threat became "news" just as fellow hard-line Arizona sheriff Paul Babeu "hijacked" Arpaio's status as the media's "go-to guy" on Arizona and immigration.