It took 13 years to catch him but every story has an end!......
The world's most powerful and elusive
drug lord, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as El Chapo, has reportedly been captured in Mexico ― ending a
13-year manhunt for the chief supplier of illegal drugs.
El Chapo or Shorty, was busted last night Feb 21 at a hotel in the beach resort in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, following a lengthy joint operation between U.S. federal law enforcement agencies and Mexican authorities.
Guzmán, is a grade-school dropout who entered the drug world at the age of 15, rising through the criminal ranks to become head of the
Sinaloa Cartel, the largest crime syndicate in Mexico.
Sinaloa Cartelo smuggles multi-ton shipments of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine from Mexico to the United States.
The ring has used small planes, 747 jumbo jets, boats, railroad cars and vast tunnels running under the border to smuggle narcotics into foreign countries, most of it bound for the United States.
His multibillion-dollar drug empire stretches throughout North America and reaches as far away as Europe and Australia.
Guzmán, 59, was captured in
1993 in Guatemala, where he was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for drug trafficking, criminal association and bribery charges.
He escaped from a federal maximum-security prison in
2001, reportedly after bribing prison guards to smuggle him out in a laundry cart. He had been hiding out ever since.
Guzman has placed on Forbes' list of the World’s Billionaires and ranked as one of the most powerful people in the world since 2009. It also calls him the "biggest druglord of all time". His worth is estimated at $1 billion.
Last year the Mexican kingpin was branded "Public Enemy No. 1" by Chicago Crime Commission, and he's considered the "most powerful drug trafficker in the world" by the United States Department of the Treasury (DEA), calling him "the godfather of the drug world"
He's considered extremely violent and dangerous and is said to be responsible for the deaths of more than 10,000 people.
The arrest is a stellar victory in Mexico’s battle against criminal drug syndicates that control large sections of the country with violence and extortion, and it could also spell the end of the most powerful drug runner in history.
Check out the raids - 13-year manhunt!On September 7, 2001:
Authorities raided a stash house in the eastern Mexico City neighborhood of Iztapalapa. Among those arrested was Arturo "El Pollo" Guzmán Loera, Guzmán's younger brother.
In November 2001:
Military intelligence discovered Guzmán was hiding out on a ranch outside Sante Fe, Nayarit. Mexican military deployed helicopters to close in, but Ismael Zambada García provided his own helicopter to Guzmán to escape.
On December 20, 2005:
The US Drug Enforcement Administration announced a US $5 million reward for information leading to Guzmán's arrest and prosecution.
In March 2008:
The Guatemalan government reported that Guzmán's organization may have been tied to a gun battle in their country that left ten gunmen dead. Three days later the Honduran government reported that they were investigating whether he was hiding out in Honduras.
On April 18, 2009:
Roman Catholic Archbishop Héctor González announced that the fugitive drug trafficker was living nearby in the state of Durango. A few days after that two military officers were found dead near a bullet-riddled car in the same area the archbishop claimed Guzmán lived. A message was left near them: "You'll never get 'El Chapo', not the priests, not the government."
On February 19, 2012:
Mexican lawmen "nearly nabbed" Guzmán Loera in a coastal mansion in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur. The details of how the authorities knew he was there and why El Chapo was not caught have not been released.
On February 22, 2013:
It was reported that Guzmán Loera was killed in a gun fight near the border between Guatemala and Mexico. Police stated that a body was found inside a truck and that it resembled El Chapo. The authorities later dismissed the rumors after the body was not found. The Guatemalan government issued an apology for the misleading information.
On November 2013:
Honduras Vice-Minister of Defense Roberto Funes stated in a press interview that Guzmán was possibly hiding in Honduras. However, there was no clear evidence that the drug lord had left Mexico.
On February 21,2014:
Guzmán was busted l at a hotel in the beach resort in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, following a lengthy joint operation between U.S. federal law enforcement agencies and Mexican authorities.
