El Chapo, the Mexican drug lord who escaped from the Altiplano prison near Mexico City in July, has been captured. An official from the Mexican Marines confirmed the news to ABC News just a short time ago.
It was via a ventilated tunnel constructed underneath a bathtub in his cell that El Chapo, whose real name is Joaquin Guzman, escaped. The tunnel went on for about a mile underground.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced the capture of El Chapo via Twitter.
Read what President Enrique Peña Nieto said about the capture of El Chapo: https://t.co/u1HpjRTLk0 pic.twitter.com/Tfut67FUA0
— Esquire Magazine (@esquire) January 8, 2016
The Mexican Marines reported earlier this afternoon that the capture followed a shootout with the Mexican Marines in Mochis, which is located in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Five people were reportedly killed and one marine was seriously injured.
5 people killed, Mexican marine injured during "El Chapo" arrest: @AP https://t.co/v4wErPZi8L pic.twitter.com/TagbrOzflx
— KTLA (@KTLA) January 8, 2016
The infamous drug lord had been imprisoned for five months prior to this latest escape. He had previously escaped from a different Mexican prison using a tunnel, too.
El Chapo is the head of one of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels. He ran a multibillion dollar empire that provided much of the marijuana, cocaine, and heroin sold on U.S. streets.
The Mexican president, as well as many of his officials, are certainly breathing a huge sigh of relief since El Chapo’s capture. This latest prison escape was an embarrassment to their government.