The world's most-wanted drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was captured for a third time in a raid on Friday by Mexican marines. The capture comes six months after he tunneled out of a maximum security prison in an elaborate escape that was an embarrassment for the Mexican government and law enforcement. Here’s what we know now.
1.) When was Guzman caught?
The president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, announced the capture Friday via his Twitter account, which translated into English means, "Mission accomplished: we have him."
2.) How was Guzman caught?
The Associated Press indicates that Guzman’s whereabouts were discovered several days ago, and the Mexican Navy acted at dawn Friday on a tip that Guzman was in a house in Los Mochis. It is not clear if Guzman was arrested at the house or nearby. The house raid uncovered a large arsenal of weapons, including sniper guns and a grenade launcher. Five people were killed and one Mexican marine wounded in the clash in a house, but authorities confirmed Guzman was taken alive and was not injured.
3.) Why was Guzman the world’s most-wanted drug lord?
Guzman was a master escape artist, managing to escape two Mexican maximum-security prisons in 2001 and on July 11, 2015. The 2015 escape went viral after it was discovered that Guzman escaped through an opening behind a cell shower to travel through a mile-long tunnel that led from his cell to an unfinished barn.
>>Video: Watch his daring escape
>>Photos: See the tunnel under Guzman's prison cell
4.) How much is Guzman thought to be worth?
Guzman was one of the most powerful drug lords in the world, amassing a $1 billion fortune as head of the Sinaloa Cartel before he was captured in Mazatlan in February 2014.
5.) What happens now?
According to The Associated Press, U.S. extradition requests were filed on June 25, before he escaped from prison. In September, a judge issued a second provisional arrest warrant on U.S. charges of organized crime, money laundering drug trafficking, homicide and others. On Saturday, AP cited a Mexican offical source, who said Mexico is willing to extradite Guzman to the U.S., but no further confirmation has been provided. If true, the country's willing to extradite Guzman would be a reversal from Mexico's stance in 2014.
For now, Guzman is being held in the Altiplano maximum-security prison, the same facility he escaped in July.
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