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| World’s top drug trafficker arrested in Mexico, U.S. official says | World’s top drug trafficker arrested in Mexico, U.S. official says |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| U.S. and Mexican authorities on Saturday morning arrested the chief of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, long considered the world’s most powerful drug trafficker, a senior American law enforcement official said. | U.S. and Mexican authorities on Saturday morning arrested the chief of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, long considered the world’s most powerful drug trafficker, a senior American law enforcement official said. |
| Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known by the alias El Chapo Guzmán, was taken into custody early Saturday in Mazatlán, a resort town in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the official said. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and U.S. marshals worked alongside Mexican law enforcement personnel in the operation. | Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known by the alias El Chapo Guzmán, was taken into custody early Saturday in Mazatlán, a resort town in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the official said. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and U.S. marshals worked alongside Mexican law enforcement personnel in the operation. |
| [READ the indictment] | [READ the indictment] |
| “No shots were fired,” the law enforcement official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the arrest has not been publicly announced. | “No shots were fired,” the law enforcement official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the arrest has not been publicly announced. |
| The official said it was not clear where Guzmán will be prosecuted. He is under federal indictment in several U.S. jurisdictions, but it is possible Mexican authorities could prosecute him before he faces charges on American soil. | The official said it was not clear where Guzmán will be prosecuted. He is under federal indictment in several U.S. jurisdictions, but it is possible Mexican authorities could prosecute him before he faces charges on American soil. |
| Guzmán has been considered Mexico’s top drug trafficker for more than a decade, and the U.S. Treasury Department has labeled him “the most powerful drug trafficker in the world.” | |
| The cartel chief became a player in the drug trade in the 1980s, working for a syndicate called El Padrino, or Godfather, the country’s leading narcotics smuggling operation. | |
| According to the DEA, Guzmán began smuggling cocaine into the United States in massive quantities in the early 1990s, using a “sophisticated tunnel” that led to Douglas, Ariz. | |
| After his 1993 arrest in Guatemala, Guzmán stood trial in Mexico and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He escaped in a laundry cart in 2001 after bribing prison guards. | |
| In 2005, the DEA announced a $5 million reward for tips that led to his capture and prosecution. As his drug empire thrived, Guzmán eluded U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials for years. |