The world’s most-wanted drug lord has been captured for a third time, in armed raids by Mexican marines.
Notorious Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín Guzmán Loera, a.k.a. El Chapo was recaptured on Friday six months after he escaped from a maximum-security prison.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced the capture on Twitter, writing: “Mission accomplished: we have him.”
Five people were killed in the shootout, and one Mexican marine was injured. Six people and “a fearsome arsenal” — including two armored vehicles, eight rifles, one handgun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and at least one grenade — were taken into custody. According to the AP, “two of the rifles seized were.50-caliber sniper guns, capable of penetrating most bullet-proof vests and cars.”
Few had thought Guzman would be taken alive, and few now believe Mexico will want to try to hold him a third time in Mexican prisons, from which he escaped in 2001 and 2015. The US has sought his extradition, though Mexico in the past has said he would serve sentences here first.