MEXICO CITY — Notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who broke out of a maximum security prison through an elaborate tunnel seven months ago, has been recaptured, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced Friday.
"Mission accomplished — we have him," Peña Nieto said on Twitter.
The Mexican Navy said in a statement that marines, acting on a tip, raided a home before dawn in the city of Los Mochis, in Guzman’s home state of Sinaloa. The assault team was fired upon from inside the structure.
Five suspects were killed and six others arrested. One marine was wounded, but did not sustain life-threatening injuries.
Marines seized two armored vehicles, eight long guns, one handgun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, the Navy said in a statement.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said it was "extremely pleased" at the news. "We congratulate the MX Government and salute the bravery involved in his capture," the DEA said on Twitter.
Guzman's daring escape in July, through a tunnel carved beneath the shower stall in his cell, was a humiliating embarrassment for the Mexican president, ho had previously said Guzmán’s escape would be, “Unforgivable.” The governor of the prison and several guards were arrested.
Peña Nieto and federal officials were criticized for not extraditing Guzmán to the United States, in spite of shortcomings in the Mexican prison system.
The diminutive Guzman, whose nickname means "Shorty," wielded so much power as head of the Sinaloa drug cartel that the Chicago Crime Commission called him Public Enemy No. 1, a label applied to gangster Al Capone in 1930.
It was Guzman's second successful escape.
After breaking out of Puente Grande prison in 2001, he spent more than a decade on the run, rising to lead the Sinaloa cartel, which smuggles large quantities of drugs into the United States. The cartel is a key player in a drug war that has ravaged parts of Mexico for years and cost thousands of lives.
Guzman escaped that time with the help of prison guards, who possibly hid him in a laundry cart. He was recaptured in February 2014 and held at Altiplano before his escape in July.
Analysts say the capture gives the president a chance to regain some credibility after taking a political hit.
“If confirmed it's obviously a great sign that in spite of concerns that Pena Nieto's government would go easy on kingpins and organized crime, it hasn't,” said Malcolm Beith, a journalist who wrote a book on Guzmán. “Catching Chapo again now gives Mexico a great opportunity to either try him quickly and fairly and make sure that if found guilty he remains behind bars or extradite him and prove that US-Mexican relations are just as strong as ever.”
.......................................
Wonder how long until he breaks back out
"Mission accomplished — we have him," Peña Nieto said on Twitter.
The Mexican Navy said in a statement that marines, acting on a tip, raided a home before dawn in the city of Los Mochis, in Guzman’s home state of Sinaloa. The assault team was fired upon from inside the structure.
Five suspects were killed and six others arrested. One marine was wounded, but did not sustain life-threatening injuries.
Marines seized two armored vehicles, eight long guns, one handgun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, the Navy said in a statement.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said it was "extremely pleased" at the news. "We congratulate the MX Government and salute the bravery involved in his capture," the DEA said on Twitter.
Guzman's daring escape in July, through a tunnel carved beneath the shower stall in his cell, was a humiliating embarrassment for the Mexican president, ho had previously said Guzmán’s escape would be, “Unforgivable.” The governor of the prison and several guards were arrested.
Peña Nieto and federal officials were criticized for not extraditing Guzmán to the United States, in spite of shortcomings in the Mexican prison system.
The diminutive Guzman, whose nickname means "Shorty," wielded so much power as head of the Sinaloa drug cartel that the Chicago Crime Commission called him Public Enemy No. 1, a label applied to gangster Al Capone in 1930.
It was Guzman's second successful escape.
After breaking out of Puente Grande prison in 2001, he spent more than a decade on the run, rising to lead the Sinaloa cartel, which smuggles large quantities of drugs into the United States. The cartel is a key player in a drug war that has ravaged parts of Mexico for years and cost thousands of lives.
Guzman escaped that time with the help of prison guards, who possibly hid him in a laundry cart. He was recaptured in February 2014 and held at Altiplano before his escape in July.
Analysts say the capture gives the president a chance to regain some credibility after taking a political hit.
“If confirmed it's obviously a great sign that in spite of concerns that Pena Nieto's government would go easy on kingpins and organized crime, it hasn't,” said Malcolm Beith, a journalist who wrote a book on Guzmán. “Catching Chapo again now gives Mexico a great opportunity to either try him quickly and fairly and make sure that if found guilty he remains behind bars or extradite him and prove that US-Mexican relations are just as strong as ever.”
.......................................
Wonder how long until he breaks back out
