Guzmán, Joaquín “El Chapo” (1954?-…), became notorious as a Mexican drug trafficker and leader of the Sinaloa cartel , a criminal organization based in Sinaloa , Mexico . Drug trafficking is the illegal trade in drugs. Guzmán once ruled over a huge drug trafficking empire. He gained the nickname “El Chapo” (Shorty) based on his height of 5 feet 6 inches (1.7 meters).
Joaquín << hwah keen >> Archivaldo Guzmán Loera was born in the rural mountain community of La Tuna, in the northwestern state of Sinaloa. Sources disagree on whether he was born in 1954 or 1957. He had nine brothers and sisters. Guzmán’s father was a cattle rancher, but much of his income came from the illegal growing of marijuana and of opium poppies. Guzmán worked for his father from a young age, and he eventually began producing his own marijuana. In the 1970’s, Guzmán joined the Guadalajara cartel, based in Jalisco state. By the early 1980’s, he had risen in the ranks of the cartel, where he was valued for his sharp mind and ruthlessness. In the mid-1980’s, Guzmán joined a new cartel based in Tijuana . By 1989, he was head of the Sinaloa cartel. The Sinaloa cartel smuggled vast amounts of cocaine , heroin , marijuana, and methamphetamine into the United States and other countries.
In the early 1990’s, violence flared among the Sinaloa cartel and rival cartels, resulting in numerous killings of drug traffickers, police officers, and innocent civilians. Under pressure from Mexican authorities, Guzmán fled to Guatemala . But he was captured and returned to Mexico in 1993. Guzmán was sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, he continued to run his drug empire through his brother, Arturo. In 2001, facing extradition (transfer) to the United States, Guzmán escaped from prison. For the next several years, he expanded the reach of the Sinaloa cartel and engaged in violent campaigns against rival cartels and Mexican authorities.
Guzmán was arrested in 2014 in Mazatlán, Sinaloa. However, he escaped from prison again in 2015. An extensive manhunt resulted in Guzmán’s recapture in 2016. The following year, he was extradited to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking, homicide , money laundering , and many other crimes. In 2019, Guzmán was found guilty of all the charges against him and sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison.
