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El Chapo, Most-Wanted Drug Lord, Is Captured El Chapo, Most-Wanted Drug Lord, Is Captured in Mexico
(about 2 hours later)
MEXICO CITY — Early on Saturday, dozens of soldiers and police officers descended on a hotel-condominium tower in Mazatlán, Mexico, a beach resort known as much as a hangout for drug traffickers as for its seafood and surf. MEXICO CITY — Just before 7 a.m. on Saturday, dozens of soldiers and police officers descended on a condominium tower in Mazatlán, Mexico, a beach resort known as much as a hangout for drug traffickers as for its seafood and surf.
The forces were following yet another tip about the whereabouts of the trafficker Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as El Chapo, who, to the utter frustration of American and Mexican pursuers, had eluded such raids for 13 years since escaping from prison in a laundry cart. With an army of guards and lethally enforced loyalty, he reigned over a worldwide, multibillion-dollar drug empire that supplied much of the illicit drugs to the United States even as the authorities tried in vain to find him. The forces were following yet another tip about the whereabouts of one of the world’s most wanted drug kingpins, Joaquín Guzmán Loera — known as El Chapo, which means “Shorty” — who had eluded such raids for 13 years since escaping from prison in a laundry cart. With an army of guards and lethally enforced loyalty, he reigned over a worldwide, multibillion-dollar drug empire that supplied much of the illicit cocaine and marijuana to the United States despite a widespread, yearslong manhunt by American and Mexican forces.
This time, however, Mr. Guzmán did not slip out a door, disappear into the night or prove to be absent, as he had in so many previous attempts to apprehend him. Mexican marines and the police, aided by information from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Marshals Service, took him into custody without firing a shot and whisked him away, according to American officials. This time, however, Mr. Guzmán, believed to be in his mid-50s, did not slip out a door, disappear into the famed mountains around his northwest Mexico home, or prove to be absent, as he had in so many previous attempts to apprehend him. He apparently had no time to reach for the arsenal of guns and grenades he had amassed or dash into a storm drain or specially dug tunnel, as authorities said he recently did minutes ahead of pursuers.
Seized along with him was a weapons cache that included 97 large guns, 36 handguns, 2 grenade launchers and a rocket launcher, according to Mexico’s attorney general. Mexican marines and the police, aided by information from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, immigration and customs officials and the United States Marshals Service, took him into custody without firing a shot, according to American and Mexican officials.
Mr. Guzmán faces a slew of drug trafficking and organized crime charges here and in the United States, which had offered $5 million for information leading to his arrest and had sought his extradition in the past. American authorities said it was unclear at this point whether the United States would seek his extradition, but Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Eduardo Medina Mora, said, “I think it’s important that first he faces the charges against him in Mexico." Mexico’s attorney general, Jesús Murillo Karam, said a later forensic exam made it “100 percent” certain the man was Mr. Guzmán; the tests were done to avoid the kind of embarrassment Mexican officials faced in June 2012 when they announced the arrest of Mr. Guzmán’s son, only to later discover it was not him.
Mr. Guzmán’s Sinaloa Cartel is considered the largest and most powerful trafficking organization, with a reach as far as Europe and Asia, and has been a main combatant in a spasm of violence in recent years that has left tens of thousands dead in Mexico in recent years. He faces a slew of drug trafficking and organized crime charges in the United States, which had offered $5 million for information leading to his arrest.
“Big strike,” said a Twitter post from former President Felipe Calderón, who had made cracking down on drug gangs a hallmark of his tenure, which ended in late 2012. Mr. Guzmán’s Sinaloa Cartel is considered the largest and most powerful trafficking organization in the world, with a reach as far as Europe and Asia, and has been a main combatant in a spasm of violence that has left tens of thousands dead in Mexico.
It remains to be seen if the arrest will interrupt Mexico’s thriving drug trade. The capture or killing of a drug lord sometimes unleashes more violence as internal feuds break out and rivals attack. And given the efficiency of the Sinaloa Cartel, it is possible the group will manage a smooth transition to a new leader and simply continue with business as usual. “Big strike,” said a Twitter posting by former President Felipe Calderón, who had made cracking down on drug gangs a hallmark of his tenure.
“The takedown of Chapo Guzmán is a thorn in the side of the Sinaloa cartel, but not a dagger in its heart,” said George Grayson, a professor at the College of William and Mary who studies the drug war. But it was the forces under the control of President Enrique Peña Nieto, who has sought to steer the image of Mexico away from drug violence, that produced the biggest arrest in a generation. While Mr. Peña Nieto has not allowed American law enforcement officials the kind of broad access in Mexico that Mr. Calderón had permitted, the two countries have continued to work together on big cases.
He and other analysts said Mr. Guzmán had ample time to groom a successor. Eduardo Medina Mora, the Mexican ambassador to the United States, said that the two governments had been working together on the case for months. But whether Mr. Guzmán would be extradited to the United States has not been worked out.
Over time, as he avoided being caught despite a widespread, years’ long manhunt, his legend and the mystery of his whereabouts grew. He had been rumored to be in Guatemala, Argentina, Bolivia, and even as Mr. Calderón once speculated, in the United States. “I think it’s important that first he faces the charges against him in Mexico," the ambassador said.
But in the end, he was captured doing what so many cartel bosses do: having a party in Mazatlán. It remains to be seen if the arrest will interrupt Mexico’s thriving drug trade. The capture or killing of a drug lord sometimes unleashes more violence as internal feuds break out and rivals attack. And given the efficiency of the Sinaloa Cartel, it is possible the group will manage a smooth transition to a new leader and continue with business as usual.
President Enrique Peña Nieto announced the capture at 1:43 p.m. local time on Twitter. “The takedown of Chapo Guzmán is a thorn in the side of the Sinaloa Cartel, but not a dagger in its heart,” said George Grayson, a professor at the College of William and Mary who studies the drug war.
Few details were available early on Saturday, but a picture of Mr. Guzmán, who appeared to be handcuffed and with a few cuts on his face and torso, circulated among law enforcement officials. He has been on the run so long that there was uncertainty about what he looked like, but American officials believed the Mexicans had the right man in custody. Over time, as he eluded capture, his legend and the mystery of his whereabouts grew. He had been rumored to be in Guatemala, Argentina, Bolivia, and even, as Mr. Calderón once speculated, in the United States, where his wife had given birth to twins.
The attorney general, Jesús Murillo Karam, said at a news conference that Mr. Guzmán had used several homes reinforced with steel doors in Mazatlán, and moved between them through a network of tunnels and the city’s drainage system. Mr. Murillo Karam also said the investigation had developed leads in the case over several months, adding that his identity was “100 percent assured.” But in the end, he was captured not long after doing what so many cartel bosses do: having a party in Mazatlán.
In Mazatlán, residents reported seeing a long convoy of Mexican Navy trucks arrive at the hotel-condo tower facing the sea early on Saturday morning. Witnesses said the trucks cut off traffic to the area — on and around the city’s main oceanfront boulevard — as the forces completed what looked like a high-profile operation. Few details were available early on Saturday, but a picture of Mr. Guzmán, who appeared kneeling and handcuffed with a few cuts on his face and shoulders, circulated among law enforcement officials.
Only later did it become apparent that Mr. Guzmán had been caught, causing great concern for some. At a breakfast gathering for local businessmen, a few attendees got up and left immediately upon hearing the news, according to a witness. Others said they were scared about what would come next. Later in the afternoon, he was paraded before the media at a news conference at Mexico City’s international airport, in dark jeans, a dress shirt and noticeably blacker hair than in previous photographs. Masked Mexican marines gripped him as he was walked to a helicopter that would take him to prison.
“It’s bad news for Mazatlán because the relative calm we’ve been living in could be severely disrupted,” said one of the men at the breakfast. “He was keeping the peace.” The authorities seized an arsenal during his arrest, suggesting the lengths he went to protect himself: 97 large guns, 36 handguns, 2 grenade launchers, a rocket launcher, and 43 vehicles, several of them armored.
Over the years he eluded arrest, Mr. Guzmán took on near-mythic status. He landed on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people and his alleged exploits became legendary. He picked up the tab for entire restaurants, or so the stories go, to ensure diners would remain silent about his outings. According to a leaked diplomatic cable, he surrounded himself with an entourage of 300 armed men for protection. And narcocorridos, folk ballads in tribute to drug lords, were sung in his honor. Without specifying their location, Mr. Murillo Karam said Mr. Guzmán had seven houses, with reinforced steel doors and connected by tunnels that allowed him time to escape just ahead of the police.
It seemed as if he was always tipped off or managed to slink away just as Mexican forces, often relying on American intelligence, closed in several times in the past few years. An American law enforcement official said that last week, the D.E.A. assisted Mexican agents in a raid on an upper-class neighborhood of Culiacán, Mexico, the Sinaloa State capital, arrested several security people for Mr. Guzmán and discovered the tunnels, with openings to them in the showers of several homes.
In 2012, it appeared he was hiding in a mansion in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, around the time that Hillary Rodham Clinton, then the secretary of state, met with foreign ministers there. A raid the next day failed to capture him. Mr. Guzmán fled to Mazatlán, the official said, and the Mexicans and Americans followed.
While Mr. Guzmán is the most prominent drug lord in Mexico to fall, the practical effect of his capture remained unclear. Although he had remained the head of the Sinaloa cartel, security analysts have long suspected that much of the day-to-day management fell to subordinates who remain at large. As it became apparent that Mr. Guzmán had been caught, some in Mazatlán expressed concern. At a breakfast gathering for local businessmen, a few attendees got up and left immediately upon hearing the news, according to a witness.
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. “It’s bad news for Mazatlán,” said one of the men at the breakfast. “He was keeping the peace.”
In the years since he escaped arrest, Mr. Guzmán took on near-mythic status. He landed on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people. He picked up the tab for entire restaurants, or so the stories go, to ensure diners would remain silent about his outings. According to a leaked diplomatic cable, he surrounded himself with an entourage of 300 armed men for protection. And narcocorridos, folk ballads in tribute to drug lords, were sung in his honor.
It seemed as if he was always tipped off or managed to slink away just as Mexican forces, often relying on American intelligence, closed in.
Although Mr. Guzmán had remained the head of the Sinaloa cartel, security analysts have long suspected that much of the day-to-day management fell to subordinates still at large.
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 mythology 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 was born in poverty in the foothills of the Sierra Madre in Sinaloa State and dropped out of school by third grade. His first foray into drug smuggling came in the late 1980s, when, the State Department said, 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 Colombia to Arizona.
By the time the Mexican authorities captured Mr. Félix Gallardo in 1989, Mr. Guzmán had already 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 already begun forming his own 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 defended himself by saying he was a farmer and merchant earning approximately $6,000 monthly. In 1993, he was charged in the United States with money laundering and racketeering, and three months later, he was arrested and convicted in Mexico on drug and homicide charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
As American investigations continued, 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. As American investigations continued, the drug and racketeering indictments piled up. One in 1994 said Mr. Guzmán continued operating his organization through a brother while jailed.
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, when he was wheeled out in a laundry cart. The authorities suspected prison officials helped him escape. Then, in January 2001, Mr. Guzmán’s criminal career took a stunning turn with his escape in the laundry cart that was wheeled out of the prison. In what was considered further proof of his broad-based power, authorities suspected prison officials helped him escape.
In the past year, American and Mexican authorities stepped up sanctions to pressure the Guzmán family, but the Sinaloa cartel continued to grow, expanding into marijuana and heroin.
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.