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Safe houses key to drug king capture U.S. and Mexican authorities detail coordinated effort to capture drug lord
(about 5 hours later)
MEXICO CITY — The half-dozen Mexican navy commandos who burst into room 401 of the Miramar condominium building in the beach town of Mazatlan found the world’s most-wanted drug lord not armed to the teeth, but shirtless and curled up in bed with his secretary. An assault rifle, which he didn’t attempt to grab, lay by his side. MEXICO CITY — The half-dozen Mexican commandos who burst into Room 401 of the Miramar condominium building in the beach town of Mazatlan found the world’s most-wanted drug lord not armed to the teeth, but shirtless and curled up in bed with his beauty-queen wife. An assault rifle was at his side, but he didn’t try to grab it.
The arrival of the elite troops at this seaside condo tower early Saturday morning was the culmination of nine days of rapid-fire military raids and detective work across the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa state. The arrival of the elite troops at this seaside condo tower on Saturday morning marked the culmination of nine days of rapid-fire military raids and detective work across the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa.
Mexican and U.S. authorities involved in the investigation offered new details on Sunday about how they put together a jigsaw puzzle that was 13 years in the making. They were helped by U.S.-supplied surveillance technology that allowed them to track the cellphone locations of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and his crew as they tried to escape capture through a warren of hidden sewer-line tunnels. Mexican and U.S. authorities involved in the investigation offered new details on Sunday about how they put together a jigsaw puzzle that was 13 years in the making. They were helped by U.S.-supplied wiretaps and surveillance technology that allowed them to track the cellphone locations of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and his crew as they tried everything to avoid capture — even fleeing through sewer tunnels.
The arrest is a major victory for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, whose government and that of his predecessor had faced charges that they had accommodated Guzmán’s Sinaloa Cartel and preferred to target other groups. The drug lord’s capture shows the world that “we don’t have agreements with anyone,” said Tomas Zeron, the head of criminal investigations in the Mexican attorney general’s office. “The investigation was very good, and very well coordinated over many days, and this was the result.” The arrest is a major victory for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, whose government and that of his predecessor had faced accusations that they had accommodated Guzmán’s Sinaloa cartel while targeting other groups. The drug lord’s capture shows that “we don’t have agreements with anyone,” said Tomas Zeron, the head of criminal investigations in the Mexican attorney general’s office. “The investigation was very good, and very well coordinated over many days, and this was the result.”
American law enforcement officials played a key role in the investigation of the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the wealthiest and most powerful drug-running outfits in the world. American law enforcement officials played a key role in the successful pursuit of the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the wealthiest and most powerful drug-running outfits in the world, according to U.S. and Mexican officials.
For at least a year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as well as Drug Enforcement Administration agents and members of the U.S. Marshals Service, had worked the case. A key break occurred last November, at the desert border in Nogales, Ariz., when a son of Guzmán’s top lieutenant, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was arrested as part of a probe that included more than 100 wiretaps, according to a U.S. federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the case. For at least a year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as well as Drug Enforcement Administration agents and members of the U.S. Marshals Service, had worked the case. A key break occurred in November, at the border in Nogales, Ariz., when a son of Guzmán’s top lieutenant, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was arrested
U.S. federal agents were “then able to climb the ladder from the guys at the border to the top ranks of the Sinaloa cartel. We were able to penetrate the inner circle,” the official said. , according to a U.S. federal law enforcement official.
“It was a traditional drug investigation where one phone begets another phone that begets another phone,” he said. “It was really drug investigations 101.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to comment. From that arrest, U.S. federal agents gained information that enabled them to map the upper reaches of the Sinaloa cartel
Current and former U.S. officials said that Guzmán’s “sloppiness” — specifically his more frequent visits from his mountain hideout to the cities of Culiacan and Mazatlan, both in Sinaloa state — was key to the arrest. . They learned some of the places Guzman, 56, and his henchmen liked to sleep when they came to cities in the western state. “We were able to penetrate the inner circle,” the official said.
“It was a traditional drug investigation where one phone begets another phone that begets another phone,” he added. “It was really drug investigations 101.” He and other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.
Current and former U.S. officials said that Guzmán’s “sloppiness” — specifically his more frequent trips from his mountain hideout to the cities of Culiacan and Mazatlan — was also key to the arrest.
A break in the caseA break in the case
Another big break in the case happened on Feb. 13, when Mexican marines raided a farmhouse outside Culiacan, the state capital, which has long been a stronghold for the Sinaloa cartel. At the ranch, the marines arrested five people described as hitmen for the cartel, including Jose Enrique Sandoval Romero, known as “El Loco,” or “The Crazy One,” and two of his brothers, according to Mexican officials. The Americans shared the intelligence from the Arizona arrest with the Mexicans early this month. “We shared it live so they could do verifications as we were collecting it. They knew the cities,” said another U.S. official. That led to another big break on Feb. 13, when Mexican marines raided a farmhouse outside Culiacan, the Sinaloan capital. At the ranch, the marines arrested five people described as cartel hitmen, including Jose Enrique Sandoval Romero, known as “El Loco,” and two of his brothers, according to Mexican officials.
Using information from that arrest, the marines went three days later to the house of Guzmán’s ex-wife in Culiacan, having learned that the trafficker was inside. As the marines tried to knock down a steel-enforced door, Guzmán managed to escape through a trap door under the bathtub and to descend a steel ladder that led to an elaborate network of underground tunnels that wove through the sewer system and connected at least seven other houses in the area, according to U.S. and Mexican officials. The marines were able to arrest a Guzmán associate and found methamphetamines, cocaine and marijuana. Using information from that arrest, the marines went to some of Guzman’s safe houses in Culiacan, including one where his ex-wife lived, officials said. In one home, they found one of Guzman’s couriers, who
disclosed locations of more safe houses. Guzman was hiding in another of the houses, the officials said. As the marines tried to knock down its steel-enforced door, they said, Guzman escaped through a trap door under the bathtub. He descended a steel ladder that led to a network of tunnels that wove through the sewer system and connected at least seven other houses in the area, U.S. and Mexican officials said.
“He was able to escape from us at least twice,” said the U.S. federal law enforcement official. “He had a direct sense that we were after him.”“He was able to escape from us at least twice,” said the U.S. federal law enforcement official. “He had a direct sense that we were after him.”
During these days, as police blocked off streets in Culiacan, searched houses and found caches of drugs and weapons and fleets of armored cars, top officials of the Mexican navy and the federal prosecutor’s office were holding emergency meetings to coordinate the hunt for Guzmán, who had escaped from a high-security prison in 2001 and grew into the world’s most powerful drug lord in the intervening years. Guzman was moving quickly. He would leave behind grenades, rifles, ballistic vests and armored cars. “He was on the run, and he had to leave behind his personal protection,” one federal law enforcement official said.
American investigators sifted through the trove of new intelligence about Guzmán’s safe houses, and “all the agencies started to strategize, looking at stash houses, associates — and the puzzle started coming together,” according to Mike Vigil, a retired senior DEA official who worked for 13 years in Mexico and was briefed on the arrest. As police blocked off streets in Culiacan and searched houses, top officials of the Mexican navy and the federal prosecutor’s office were holding emergency meetings to coordinate the hunt for Guzmán, who had escaped from a high-security prison in 2001. U.S. officials said he had since become the world’s most powerful drug lord.
Mexican officials said the United States also contributed with technology that allowed them to geolocate the cellphones and satellite phones used by the cartel. American investigators sifted through the trove of new intelligence, and “all the agencies started to strategize, looking at stash houses, associates — and the puzzle started coming together,” according to Mike Vigil, a retired senior DEA official who worked for 13 years in Mexico and was briefed on the arrest.
On Feb. 19 and 20, three more Guzmán lieutenants were arrested in Culiacan — Manuel Lopez, Cesar de la Cruz and Jesus Pena Gonzalez — along with hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, more weapons and vehicles, officials said. Mexican officials said the United States contributed with technology that allowed them to track cellphones and satellite phones used by the cartel.
Last Friday, the 21, Guzmán made his move to Mazatlan, a seaside resort town about 135 miles south of Culiacan. Mexican officials said he was driven there by his associates and arrived at the Miramar, a pale-yellow condominium tower off the beach, where he was renting unit 401. On Wednesday and Thursday, three more Guzmán lieutenants were arrested in Culiacan
“Instead of fleeing back into the mountains, he made the fatal mistake of going into Mazatlán,” Vigil said. , officials said. One of the men had a stockpile of thousands of cocaine-filled bananas and cucumbers.
Guzmán had arrived at the condo with a woman described as his secretary, and lover, as well as a security guard known as El Condor, according to two American officials. With his location pinpointed, about six Mexican Navy commandos burst into the room at 6:40 a.m. Inside, they found Guzmán shirtless and asleep with his paramour. At that point, “Chapo and his guys realized they needed to drop the cell communication,” another federal official said. “They knew something was up.”
On Friday, instead of heading back to the mountains, Guzman traveled by road to Mazatlan, about 135 miles south of Culiacan.
Meanwhile, one of the wiretaps that originated out of the Nogales arrest had picked up the number for a new cellphone. It turned up in the pocket of Guzman’s traveling companion, a man known as “El Condor.”
Guzmán had arrived at the condo with El Condor and a woman whom U.S. officials initially described as his secretary and lover. But senior American officials, as well as Zeron, of the Mexican attorney general’s office, said the trafficker was with his wife, Emma Colonel, and their twin 2-year-old daughters. The girls were born in a Los Angeles County hospital and are U.S. citizens.
The Mexican navy commandos burst into the room at 6:40 a.m. and found Guzmán asleep.
“He didn’t put up any resistance,” Vigil said. “He was physically tired from the stress of being hunted.”“He didn’t put up any resistance,” Vigil said. “He was physically tired from the stress of being hunted.”
The arrest occurred without violence and Guzmán, after submitting to DNA tests to confirm his identity, was flown to Mexico City where he appeared briefly in front of reporters on a navy tarmac. Guzmán has been taken to a federal maximum security prison in Almoloya de Juarez in the state of Mexico, outside Mexico City. Guzmán has been taken to a maximum security prison in Almoloya de Juarez in the state of Mexico, outside Mexico City.
One question now is whether Guzmán will stand trial in Mexico or be extradited to the United States. For now, officials on both sides were relieved they caught the whale of Mexican drug trafficking. U.S. Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said that the decision on whether Guzman will be tried in Mexico or the United States “will be the subject of further discussion” between the two countries.
“This is a huge case,” the U.S. official said. “A big deal for us and a big deal for the Mexicans.” For now, officials were relieved to have captured the trafficker.
Sari Horwitz reported from Washington. Ernesto Londoño in Washington, Julie Tate in Washington and Nick Miroff in Havana, Cuba, contributed to this report. “This is a huge case,” a U.S. official said. “A big deal for us and a big deal for the Mexicans.”
Sari Horwitz reported from Washington. Ernesto Londoño and Julie Tate in Washington, as well as Nick Miroff, contributed to this report.