You Won’t Believe How Many Weapons ‘El Chapo’ Had Stocked In His Hideout

At 1:19PM Friday afternoon, Mexico’s president Enrique Pena Nieto took to Twitter to announce that the world’s most wanted drug kingpin, leader of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, has been captured by Mexican law enforcement. Easily the biggest humblebrag tweet of 2016 so far, given El Chapo’s reputation of embarrassing Mexican officials on numerous occasions, like that one time he escaped prison via a mile-long underground tunnel on a motorcycle in July. Straight-out of a movie stuff.

President Nieto’s tweet translates to: “Mission accomplished : we have it. I want to inform Mexicans Joaquin Guzman Loera has been arrested.”

There was reportedly up to $5,000,000USD bounty on information leading to El Chapo’s capture. Whoa.

President Nieto released a statement in conjunction with his tweet, indicating that U.S. authorities were also involved in the effort to recapture the escaped kingpin. This is the second time El Chapo has been recaptured after escaping prison.

‘My appreciation to the Security Cabinet of the Government of the Republic for this important achievement for the rule of law in Mexico,’ he added.

Mexican marines captured El Chapo during a raid in the city of Los Mochis, located in the kingpin’s home state of Sinloa. Five people were killed and one marine wounded in the raid.

The Mexican police say the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals aided in El Chapo’s recapture (via).

Dude was obviously prepared for a good gunfight, too.


The Daily Mail reports on how the recapture went down:

The Mexican Navy said in a statement that marines acting on a tip raided a home in the town of Los Mochis around 4:30am. They were fired on from inside the structure. Five suspects were killed and six others arrested. The marine’s injuries were not life threatening.

At the home marines seized two armored vehicles, eight rifles, one handgun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Photos of the arms seized suggested that Guzman and his associates had a fearsome arsenal at the non-descript white house in which he was hiding.

Two of the rifles seized were .50-caliber sniper guns, capable of penetrating most bullet-proof vests and cars. The grenade launcher was found loaded, with an extra round nearby. And an assault rifle had a .40 mm grenade launcher, and at least one grenade.

Guzman faces multiple federal drug trafficking indictments in the U.S. as well as Mexico, and was on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s most-wanted list.

Over/under on his next escape time? 7.5 months?

This is still developing. Please check back for updates.

[via NBC]