The world's most-wanted drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, narrowly escaped capture last week as Mexican authorities closed...
The world's most-wanted drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, narrowly escaped capture last week as Mexican authorities closed in on his hideout in the country's northwest — but not without sustaining injuries to his face and leg.
Guzman, the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, escapedfrom a maximum-security prison in July through a sophisticated mile-long tunnel that had been fitted with stairs, ventilation, and an adapted motorcycle on rails.
The Mexican government said in a statement Friday it had coordinated efforts with international authorities that led to the new hunt for the notorious fugitive. According to NBC News, U.S. drug agents intercepted cell phone communications that led Mexican authorities to a ranch near the small city of Cosala in the state of Sinaloa.
Mexican marines launched an aerial raid on the ranch where they believed Guzman was hiding but were forced to retreat after coming under heavy gunfire. Troops later entered the ranch on foot but Guzman and others had already escaped, possibly on ATVs, three unnamed sources with knowledge of the operation told NBC.
Villagers in the area said the military operation sparked an intense firefight that left people running for cover, homes riddled with bullet holes, and several injured as they attempted to flee the violence.
For more than an hour and a half, "all I could hear was shooting," a woman told the Los Angeles Times. Hundreds fled the area on foot, walking for days through the Sierra Madre mountain range to safety and suffering from dehydration and other injuries.
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