Most Wanted Drug Lord “El Chapo” Capture in Mexico

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U.S. and Mexican authorities in Mazatlan, Mexico captured Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmanon Feb. 21. Guzman was the world’s most wanted drug lord, facing federal drug trafficking indictments in both the U.S. and Mexico.

Guzman, 56, was captured along with an unidentified woman, who is presumed to be his beauty queen wife, Emma Coronel. His drug empire consists of large stretches of North America as well as areas in Europe and Australia. His Sinaloa drug cartel has been involved in the violent drug war that has been prevalent in Mexico within the last few years.

Authorities had been closing in on the notorious drug leader for months before marines initiated an operation to capture the cartel leader. The son of the Sinaloa co-leader and Guzman’s partner, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was arrested in November in Arizona.

The capture of “El Chapo,” which means “shorty,” ends a long and fascinating manhunt. He was rumored to have homes everywhere from Argentina to Guatemala since he escaped from prison in 2001. Rumors circulated that he was helped and protected by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Guzman’s fortune has grown to more than $1 billion according to Forbes, and was listed as one of the “World’s Most Powerful People,” ranking above the presidents of Venezuela and France.

Guzman has built his drug empire even while having a $7 million bounty on his head and evading thousands of law enforcement agents.

Rumor has it that “El Chapo” was once arrested in Mexico’s capital, according to “The Last Narco: Inside the Hunt for El Chapo, the World’s Most wanted DrugLord,” by Malcolm Beith. “At the police station, he lifted up a suitcase and put it on the desk of the capital’s chief of police,” said Beith. “Inside was $50,000 in cash; within minutes, Chapo was out the door.”

Guzman’s infamy and success could be arguably bigger than Colombia’s Pablo Escobar, who waged a decade-long reign of terror in the South American country. He was gunned down in 1993 after killing hundreds of police, judges, journalists, and politicians.