UPDATE: It appears that Joaquin Guzman Loera, better known as El Chapo, was doing a lot more than hiding out in caves and staying off the grid during his six months on the run. According to a report from NBC, Loera was in the process of casting a biopic about himself, which helped lead to his capture, according to Mexico’s Attorney General Arely Gonzalez. “important element in determining Chapo’s whereabouts was finding out that he wanted to film an autobiographical film.” El Chapo had allegedly been contacting actors and producers as his plans to essentially make a movie about himself while on the run from federal authorities began to materialize.
ORIGINAL STORY: El Chapo has been captured, according to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who tweeted out the following, which translates to “Mission accomplished: we have him. I want to let the Mexican people know that Joaquin Guzman Loera has been detained.”
The kingpin escaped through a tunnel from his jail cell in July of 2015, and has been on the run for the past 6 months. The Associated Press reports that, according to an anonymous witness, “Guzman was apprehended after a shootout with Mexican marines in the city of Los Mochis, in Guzman’s home state of Sinaloa.” Five suspects were killed in the shootout, and a marine suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Authorities were led to a location in Los Mochis by intel they’d received via a tip, and upon arrival seized firearms and armored vehicles in addition to Guzman Loera.
