This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/world/americas/joaquin-guzman-loera-sinaloa-drug-cartel-leader-is-captured-in-mexico.html
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Most-Wanted Drug Lord Is Captured in Mexico | Most-Wanted Drug Lord Is Captured in Mexico |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| MEXICO CITY — The world’s most-wanted drug kingpin, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as El Chapo, has been captured, a senior American law enforcement official said Saturday, ending a 13-year manhunt for the chief supplier of illegal drugs to the United States and much of the world. | MEXICO CITY — The world’s most-wanted drug kingpin, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as El Chapo, has been captured, a senior American law enforcement official said Saturday, ending a 13-year manhunt for the chief supplier of illegal drugs to the United States and much of the world. |
| Mr. Guzmán, whose nickname means Shorty, had eluded the authorities time and again since he escaped from a prison in a laundry basket in 2001 just before an extradition order to the United States. He faces a variety of drug trafficking and other charges stemming from a multibillion-dollar drug empire. | |
| Few details were available early Saturday, but a picture of Mr. Guzmán, who appeared to be handcuffed and with a few cuts to his face and torso, circulated among law enforcement officials. He had been so hidden in recent years that there was uncertainty about what he looked like, but American officials believed they had the right man in custody. | Few details were available early Saturday, but a picture of Mr. Guzmán, who appeared to be handcuffed and with a few cuts to his face and torso, circulated among law enforcement officials. He had been so hidden in recent years that there was uncertainty about what he looked like, but American officials believed they had the right man in custody. |
| The arrest occurred at a hotel in Mazatlán during an operation led by the Mexican marines, supported by information from the Drug Enforcement Administration and United States marshals. The operation was the result of weeks of surveillance in the area, including a previous raid that captured people the authorities believed were friends or relatives of the kingpin. | The arrest occurred at a hotel in Mazatlán during an operation led by the Mexican marines, supported by information from the Drug Enforcement Administration and United States marshals. The operation was the result of weeks of surveillance in the area, including a previous raid that captured people the authorities believed were friends or relatives of the kingpin. |
| At 1:43 p.m. local time, President Enrique Peña Nieto announced the capture in a post on Twitter. | |
| “I recognize the work of the Mexican security institutions to achieve the apprehension of Joaquín Guzmán Loera in Mazatlán,” he said on his Twitter account. | |
| There were no shots fired in the capture of Mr. Guzmán, the senior American official said. He had been attending a party, where a guest might have tipped the authorities to his presence, according to former federal officials knowledgeable about the arrest. There was a $5 million reward for his capture. | |
| In the past year, several of Mr. Guzmán’s associates had been detained, and crime analysts who follow the drug world had speculated that his days were increasingly numbered. | In the past year, several of Mr. Guzmán’s associates had been detained, and crime analysts who follow the drug world had speculated that his days were increasingly numbered. |
| Mr. Guzmán over time had taken on near-mythic status. He landed on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people and his exploits, real or not, became legendary. He is said to have picked up the tab for entire restaurants so that diners would remain silent about his outings and, according to a leaked diplomatic cable, he surrounded himself with an entourage of 300 armed men for protection. Narcocorridos, folk ballads in tribute to drug lords, were sung in his honor. | Mr. Guzmán over time had taken on near-mythic status. He landed on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people and his exploits, real or not, became legendary. He is said to have picked up the tab for entire restaurants so that diners would remain silent about his outings and, according to a leaked diplomatic cable, he surrounded himself with an entourage of 300 armed men for protection. Narcocorridos, folk ballads in tribute to drug lords, were sung in his honor. |
| It seemed as if he was tipped off and managed to slink away just as Mexican forces, often relying on American intelligence, closed in several times in the past several years. | It seemed as if he was tipped off and managed to slink away just as Mexican forces, often relying on American intelligence, closed in several times in the past several years. |
| In 2012, it appeared he was hiding in a mansion in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, around the time Hillary Rodham Clinton, then the Secretary of State, met with foreign ministers there. A raid by the Mexican federal police the next day failed to capture him. | In 2012, it appeared he was hiding in a mansion in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, around the time Hillary Rodham Clinton, then the Secretary of State, met with foreign ministers there. A raid by the Mexican federal police the next day failed to capture him. |
| Though Mr. Guzmán is the most prominent Mexican drug lord to fall, the practical effect of his capture remained unclear. He was the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, the largest and most powerful cartel with tentacles on every continent. Security analysts, however, have long suspected that, as Mexican and American authorities ratcheted up their pursuit, much of the day-to-day management fell to subordinates who remain at large. | Though Mr. Guzmán is the most prominent Mexican drug lord to fall, the practical effect of his capture remained unclear. He was the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, the largest and most powerful cartel with tentacles on every continent. Security analysts, however, have long suspected that, as Mexican and American authorities ratcheted up their pursuit, much of the day-to-day management fell to subordinates who remain at large. |
| Another powerful group, the Zetas, has emerged with brutal violence to battle Mr. Guzmán’s organization, raising questions about whether the focus on dismantling that group gave Mr. Guzmán something of a free pass. | Another powerful group, the Zetas, has emerged with brutal violence to battle Mr. Guzmán’s organization, raising questions about whether the focus on dismantling that group gave Mr. Guzmán something of a free pass. |
| Still, Mr. Guzmán’s fall carried a potent symbolic boost for Mexican security forces, which have killed or captured 25 of the 37 most-wanted organized crime leaders announced in 2010. | Still, Mr. Guzmán’s fall carried a potent symbolic boost for Mexican security forces, which have killed or captured 25 of the 37 most-wanted organized crime leaders announced in 2010. |
| Mr. Guzmán boasted a rags-to-riches story that only fed the legend surrounding him. He was born in poverty in the foothills of the Sierra Madre in northwestern Sinaloa State and dropped out of school by third grade. His first foray into drug smuggling came in the late 1980s, when, according to the State Department, he began working for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, once Mexico’s biggest cocaine dealer, as an air logistics expert. | Mr. Guzmán boasted a rags-to-riches story that only fed the legend surrounding him. He was born in poverty in the foothills of the Sierra Madre in northwestern Sinaloa State and dropped out of school by third grade. His first foray into drug smuggling came in the late 1980s, when, according to the State Department, he began working for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, once Mexico’s biggest cocaine dealer, as an air logistics expert. |
| Mr. Guzmán astutely exploited the cocaine boom in the United States at the time, making valuable contacts along the transport chain from Barranquilla, in Colombia, to Arizona. | Mr. Guzmán astutely exploited the cocaine boom in the United States at the time, making valuable contacts along the transport chain from Barranquilla, in Colombia, to Arizona. |
| By the time the Mexican authorities captured Mr. Félix Gallardo in 1989, Mr. Guzmán had inherited one of his smuggling routes and began forming his own mushrooming cartel. | By the time the Mexican authorities captured Mr. Félix Gallardo in 1989, Mr. Guzmán had inherited one of his smuggling routes and began forming his own mushrooming cartel. |
| He was charged in the United States with money laundering and racketeering in March 1993, and three months later, he was arrested and convicted on drug and homicide charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in Mexico. | He was charged in the United States with money laundering and racketeering in March 1993, and three months later, he was arrested and convicted on drug and homicide charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in Mexico. |
| In a statement he gave to the authorities, he said he was a farmer and merchant earning approximately $6,000 monthly. | In a statement he gave to the authorities, he said he was a farmer and merchant earning approximately $6,000 monthly. |
| American investigations continued, and the drug and racketeering indictments piled up. One in 1994 said Mr. Guzmán continued operating his organization through a brother, Arturo Guzmán Loera, while in prison in Mexico, arranging cocaine shipments from South America to the United States. | American investigations continued, and the drug and racketeering indictments piled up. One in 1994 said Mr. Guzmán continued operating his organization through a brother, Arturo Guzmán Loera, while in prison in Mexico, arranging cocaine shipments from South America to the United States. |
| Then, in January 2001, Mr. Guzmán’s criminal career took a stunning turn. He escaped from the maximum-security prison in Guadalajara — the heart of Mr. Félix Gallardo’s cartel operations — by being wheeled out in the laundry cart. The authorities later alleged that some prison officials were involved. | Then, in January 2001, Mr. Guzmán’s criminal career took a stunning turn. He escaped from the maximum-security prison in Guadalajara — the heart of Mr. Félix Gallardo’s cartel operations — by being wheeled out in the laundry cart. The authorities later alleged that some prison officials were involved. |
| His life on the run gave rise to all manner of rumors about his whereabouts. He was hiding out in the mountains. No, he was spotted in Argentina, or was it Guatemala? | His life on the run gave rise to all manner of rumors about his whereabouts. He was hiding out in the mountains. No, he was spotted in Argentina, or was it Guatemala? |
| In a New York Times interview in fall 2011, Mr. Felipe Calderón, the president at the time, wondered aloud if Mr. Guzmán was actually in the United States when Mr. Guzmán’s latest bride traveled to Los Angeles to give birth to twins. | In a New York Times interview in fall 2011, Mr. Felipe Calderón, the president at the time, wondered aloud if Mr. Guzmán was actually in the United States when Mr. Guzmán’s latest bride traveled to Los Angeles to give birth to twins. |
| In the past year, the American and Mexican authorities stepped up sanctions to pressure the Guzmán family. The Treasury Department placed a son, Ivan Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and another of the kingpin’s sons on its “black list” in May 2012, prohibiting financial dealings with them. | In the past year, the American and Mexican authorities stepped up sanctions to pressure the Guzmán family. The Treasury Department placed a son, Ivan Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and another of the kingpin’s sons on its “black list” in May 2012, prohibiting financial dealings with them. |
| The State Department maintained a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest, but the Sinaloa Cartel grew steadily, expanding into marijuana and heroin. | The State Department maintained a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest, but the Sinaloa Cartel grew steadily, expanding into marijuana and heroin. |
| Frustration spilled into leaked diplomatic cables, with one in 2009 saying “Chapo commands the support of a large network of informers and has security circles of up to 300 men that make launching capture operations difficult.” | Frustration spilled into leaked diplomatic cables, with one in 2009 saying “Chapo commands the support of a large network of informers and has security circles of up to 300 men that make launching capture operations difficult.” |
| In the end, Mr. Guzmán’s fall, may hardly mean the end of his empire. There simply may be “a redistribution of power,” said Malcolm Beith, a journalist who wrote “The Last Narco,” describing the hunt for Mr. Guzmán. | In the end, Mr. Guzmán’s fall, may hardly mean the end of his empire. There simply may be “a redistribution of power,” said Malcolm Beith, a journalist who wrote “The Last Narco,” describing the hunt for Mr. Guzmán. |