Joaquín Guzmán, popularly known as El Chapo, is a former Mexican drug lord and is widely known as one of the most powerful drug lords the world has seen. Guzmán famously led the Sinaloa Cartel, which is the cartel behind one-fourth of all the illegal drugs that find their way into the US from Mexico. Joaquín Guzmán is currently serving his sentence at the ADX Florence, Colorado.
ADX Florence, also known as Supermax, refers to the United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility. It is a maximum security prison specifically designed for inmates who are considered to be of extremely high profile or capable of high violence. El Chapo was imprisoned here after multiple attempts to escape prison. His attempts were indeed successful and led to Guzman walking free even after conviction.
Guzmán is known to have exported more drugs into the US than any other drug trafficker. He was also the most powerful drug trafficker of his time and is often compared to Pablo Escobar. In fact, Guzmán is believed to have surpassed Escobar’s trade. Heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and cocaine were some of the main drugs that El Chapo dealt with. He supplied them to some of the biggest consumers in the world.
El Chapo was sentenced to life in prison in 2019. The court convicted him of drug trafficking and distribution, homicide, multiple murders, kidnappings, organized crime against health, money laundering, and several other unlawful activities. Before that, he was found guilty and sentenced to prison more than a couple of times. His grand escapes from prison were major events that went on to define him.
Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán: How many times did he escape from prison & how was he captured?
Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán was first convicted of drug trafficking and murder when he was captured in Guatemala in 1993. The court subsequently sentenced El Chapo to 20 years in prison in Mexico. Guzmán managed to escape from the maximum security prison in 2001 by bribing the prison guards. USA and Mexico announced a combined reward of $8.8 million for information about his whereabouts.
Despite various measures and the announcement of the reward, it took authorities over 13 years to recapture Joaquín Guzmán. He stayed out of their sight for over a decade amidst an active search by the state. In 2014, organized raids of properties owned by the Sinaloa Cartel members led to El Chapo’s second capture.
However, before the sentencing could unfold in 2015, El Chapo managed to escape again. This time, he escaped through an underground tunnel dug by allies from outside into his prison. The tunnel was about 10 m deep and was equipped with artificial lights as well as good construction material and air ducts. This well-organized escape triggered the authorities to start an elaborate hunt for Joaquín Guzmán.
He walked free for about a year before Mexican authorities got hold of him in 2016. They then handed him over to the US. He was then found guilty in the US and sentenced to a lifetime in prison. He is now at the Supermax, Colorado, owing to his history of escaping from prison successfully.
The Netflix series El Chapo revolves around the life of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán. It tells the tale of EL Chapo’s rise, his interaction with power, and his downfall that inevitably came around. El Chapo has 3 seasons and is streaming on Netflix now. In this series, Marco de la O plays Guzmán.
