Mexico decried Forbes magazine's decision to name the country's most-wanted drug lord to its "World's Most Powerful People," calling it an insult to the government's bloody struggle against drug cartels.

In comments to The Associated Press, a spokesman for the Interior Department, which oversees domestic security, described the listing of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman as No. 41 of the 67 most powerful people as "a justification of crime".

A mockery

"(This) is a mockery of the struggle the government is waging against organised crime," Luis Estrada said. "This not only goes against the efforts of the Mexican government, but the international fight to eliminate mafias and organised crime."

Nearly 14,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón launched an offensive against drug cartels in late 2006.

Some residents in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, which has suffered the highest rate of drug violence, with about 2,000 killings this year, also expressed outrage.

Bad news

"I think this is bad, because the news media are putting a drug trafficker above people who have legitimate businesses," said Josefina Ramirez, a Ciudad Juárez accountant.

Guzman is even considered more powerful than Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez - No. 67, and France's Nicolas Sarkozy, No. 56, according to Forbes magazine's list of the 67 "World's Most Powerful People." Guzman was just below Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.