As of Jan. 8, 2016, the druglord Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, “El Chapo,” is once again behind bars within the same prison from which he escaped six months ago.
According to Forbes magazine, Guzman’s net worth is approximately $1 billion. His vast monetary assets have allowed him to distribute drugs into over 50 countries on six continents, including the Philippines and Hong Kong, according to Business Insider.
Business Insider also reported the United States is the main consumer of drugs trafficked by El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Guzman was responsible for the cultivation and production of about 35 percent of Colombian cocaine, as well as for delivering 80 percent of the illicit narcotics that make their way into the Chicago area every year.
El Chapo’s success in this criminal trade can be attributed to his upbringing. In an interview conducted by celebrities Sean Penn and Kate del Castillo, Guzman was asked, “How did you get involved in the drug business?”
He responded, “Well, from the time I was 15 and after, I was raised in a ranch named ‘La Tuna’, and up until today, there are no job opportunities. The only way to have money to buy food, to survive, is to grow poppy, marijuana, and at that age, I began to grow it, to cultivate it and to sell it.”
As Penn continued recording their conversation, Guzman declared, “I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world. I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats.”
This interview was conducted in an undisclosed location in one of Mexico’s forests, and was later published by Rolling Stone. Guzman was arrested on Jan. 8 in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, according to ABC News.
Thereafter, Penn exclaimed “my article has failed” during an interview with CBS reporter Charlie Rose. “I have a regret that the entire discussion about this article ignores its purpose, which was to try to contribute to this discussion about the policy in the war on drugs,” Penn lamented.
The Mexican attorney general explained that law enforcement tracked down El Chapo “because he met with actors and producers.”
Guzman’s re-capture is indeed a significant milestone. Last year, to the astonishment of Mexican authorities and the world, Guzman casually escaped out of his cell while under camera surveillance inside the Altiplano Federal Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison, on July 15, 2015, according to Time.
Guzman descended out of sight inside his cell’s shower through a small hole which led to a mile-long tunnel 33 feet underground, leading to an area beyond the walls and fences of the prison, according to CNN.
Investigative journalist Roberto Saviano explained that this was Guzman’s second time escaping prison since Jan. 19, 2001 when he bribed prison guards of the Puente Grande maximum-security prison and left the confines of his cell concealed inside a laundry bin.
El Chapo’s third incarceration has helped President Enrique Peña Nieto to salvage his reputation. His public ratings have been the lowest of any Mexican President in the last 25 years, according to The New York Times.
Nieto used Twitter to announce the good news. “Mission accomplished: We’ve got him. I want to inform Mexicans that Joaquin Guzman Loera has been arrested.”
Despite success in capturing the infamous fugitive, many remain skeptical regarding the integrity of the Mexican government.
Michelle Allred, a junior majoring in psychology from Mexico City, Mexico, explained, “The government is so corrupt the only difference is here you know who owns the money and who is responsible for the business. The downside is the many lives that it takes to get the drug across US borders because of the high demand.
“I think he [Guzman] is as accountable for drug consumption as Coca Cola is for soda consumption. Narco-terrorism is big in some areas of the country but not in all and it’s mostly an issue for the Mexican government [rather] than for its citizens.”
In response to Sean Penn’s question, “Do you think it is true you are responsible for the high level of drug addiction in the world?”
Guzman responded, “No, that is false, because the day I don’t exist, it’s not going to decrease in any way at all.”