Cartel Kingpin "El Chapo" Had 43 Vehicles, 16 Houses
After Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, major drug lord of the Sinaloa cartel, was apprehended yesterday in Mazatlán, details of his property and possessions are slowly being revealed as Mexican authorities begin investigations. With 43 vehicles, 16 houses, and 4 ranches, El Chapo did more than just live large.
According to Forbes:
The Mexican Attorney General reported that the operation lasted around a month and was triggered by intelligence that revealed that the kingpin was living in seven different houses which were connected by secret tunnels and sewers. In recent days, the Mexican press published pictures of Mexican Marines lifting sewer covers to look for El Chapo.
In addition to El Chapo's properties, authorities seized 97 long arms, 36 handguns, two grenade launchers, and one rocket launcher, and noted that 19 of his 43 vehicles were armored.
El Chapo managed to evade arrest by burrowing between seven of his houses, reinforced by steel doors, and whose tunnels were often found in the residences' showers. This arrest is the first time El Chapo has been seen by authorities in ten years, and when the news of his apprehension was leaked yesterday, it was before Mexican authorities had confirmed with certainty that it was him. This important detail has now been verified:
Mexico's attorney general, Jesús Murillo Karam, said a later forensic exam made it "100 percent" certain the man was Mr. Guzmán; the tests were done to avoid the kind of embarrassment Mexican officials faced in June 2012 when they announced the arrest of Mr. Guzmán's son, only to later discover it was not him.
As of this afternoon, it was announced that the U.S. will seek extradition of Guzmán, but Mexicans in Mazatlán are reportedly wary of the development, claiming that El Chapo was "keeping the peace."
