Mexican authorities nearly captures drug kingpin in February
March 13, 2012
The war on drugs wages on in Mexico, and the Associated Press reports federal police nearly captured Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman a few weeks ago. Jose Cuitlahuac Salinas, Mexico's assistant attorney general in charge of organized crime investigations, publicly addressed the near-miss over the weekend, claiming authorities confirmed the drug kingpin's presence in the house. El Chapo managed to escape during the raid, but those found in the Los Cabos mansion were detained by officials.
According to ABC News, the U.S. Department of Treasury refers to Guzman as the most powerful drug trafficker in the world. Officials suspect he is in charge of nearly half of all the drug trafficking in Mexico, cornering the cocaine and methamphetamine markets. Guzman has been ranked as one of the world's richest men by Forbes, and currently has a $7 million bounty on his head. Officials from Honduras, Guatemala and Argentina have all claimed the cartel leader has been hiding out in their countries.
Many suspect Guzman has eluded capture for so long because he has ties with the Calderon administration, but Mexican President Felipe Calderon says he wants to find and capture El Chapo before his term ends in December, the AP reports.
Those who want to get updates on Mexico's drug war can make calls to Mexico with international phone cards.