Mexico's most notorious drug lord wanted to turn his story into a Hollywood blockbuster — a plan that ultimately led to the fugitive's capture and sent him back to the same prison from which he escaped.
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who spent six months on the lam after busting out of a maximum-security Altiplano prison in July, was arrested Friday after a bloody shootout with Mexican marines[1] that left five of his cartel workers dead.
Mexican leaders swiftly sent the Sinaloa Cartel boss back to the same facility where he made his meticulously planned escape from an elaborate tunnel built under his cell, as the U.S. called for the kingpin to be extradited to Brooklyn.[2]
EDGARD GARRIDO/REUTERS Wanted Mexican druglord Joaquin (El Chapo) Guzman was captured Friday.
N.Y. PRISONS 'WILL BE READY' IF MEXICAN DRUG LORD EL CHAPO IS EXTRADITED[3]
The summer breakout[4] marked the second time Guzman slipped away from top-security Mexican prisons.
While on the run, Guzman began making plans to turn the story of his daring escape into a biopic, said Attorney General Arely Gomez said late Friday. But his bid for the big screen helped lead investigators to his secret home in the Mexican seaside city of Los Mochis.
"He established communication with actresses and producers, which became a new line of investigation," Gomez said.
Mexican forces first spotted the runaway kingpin in October in Durango state.[5] They decided not to shoot because he was with two women and a child, Gomez said. After that, Guzman took a lower profile and limited his communication until he decided to move to Los Mochis in December.
HENRY ROMERO/REUTERS Guzman will be sent back to the the Altiplano prison, which he escaped from in July.
FUGITIVE DRUG LORD EL CHAPO CAPTURED[6]
One of the builders who helped construct Guzman's mile-long escape tunnel also pointed investigators to the seaside town, and authorities surveyed the scene for a month as they planned their takedown operation, Gomez said.
The marines decided to close in early Friday, but they were greeted with bullets as they approached the home.
"You could hear intense gunfire and a helicopter. It was fierce," said a neighbor.
Five of Guzman's bodyguards were killed in the three-hour shootout and one marine was injured. During the chaos, Guzman and his security chief, Ivan "El Cholo"Gastelum, fled via storm drains, which took them to getaway cars, Gomez said. The Marines eventually caught up with the pair on the highway, where they were arrested.
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images Guzman broke out of the top-security prison through a tunnel that had ventilation, lights and a motorbike on rails.
Gomez did not say if the dangerous drug lord would be extradited to the U.S. Prosecutors in Brooklyn, Washington and Florida have called for Mexico to send the billionaire criminal to the U.S., where he faces drug-trafficking charges in several states.
The calls for his quick extradition were the same as those after the February 2014 capture of Guzman. At the time, Mexico's government insisted it could handle the man who had already broken out of one maximum-security prison, saying he must pay his debt to Mexican society first.
Then Guzman escaped a second time on July 11 under the noses of guards and prison officials at Mexico's most secure lock-up, fleeing down a hole in his shower stall in plain view of guards into a mile-long tunnel dug from a property outside the prison[7].
The tunnel had ventilation, lights and a motorbike on rails. Construction noise as a digger broke through from the tunnel to his cell was obvious inside the prison, according a video of Guzman in his cell just before he escaped.
STRINGER/REUTERS Forensic technicians and soldiers stand outside a safe house where five people were shot dead during the Friday operation to recapture Guzman.
With News Wire Services
References
- ^ arrested Friday after a bloody shootout with Mexican marines (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ called for the kingpin to be extradited to Brooklyn. (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ N.Y. PRISONS 'WILL BE READY' IF MEXICAN DRUG LORD EL CHAPO IS EXTRADITED (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ The summer breakout (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ spotted the runaway kingpin in October in Durango state. (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ FUGITIVE DRUG LORD EL CHAPO CAPTURED (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ mile-long tunnel dug from a property outside the prison (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ mwagner@nydailynews.com (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ joaquin el chapo guzman (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ mexico (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ fugitives (www.nydailynews.com)
