'Godfather' of the Sicilian Mafia Arrested

According to People, Matteo Messina Denaro, 60, was captured in Palermo, on Jan. 16, 2023. He was on the run for thirty years. Denaro was captured in a clinic in Sicily's capitol, seeking treatement for cancer, according to the BBC. More than 100 armed officers were involved in his arrest. 

Footage of the arrest circulated through Italian media, showing crowds of people applauding in the street as Denaro was taken away by police officers. He was taken to an unknown location. 

Denaro is believed to be the head of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and responsible for multiple murders. Most notably, the 1992 murders of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and the deadly 1993 bomb attacks in Milan, Florence and Rome according to the BBC. 

Despite being on the run since 1993, the Mafia boss is believed to have continued to pull the strings of the Cosa Nostra from a number of secret hideouts, according to People. Denaro oversaw racketeering, illegal waste dumping, money-laundering and drug-trafficking for the powerful Cosa Nostra organized crime association. 

Messina Denaro has been a symbol of the states inability to reach the higher-ups of the infamous Cosa Nostra. This arrest is an unexpected sign of hope that the Mafia can be eradicated in places where the state is perceived as ineffective and absent.