Fugitive drug lord "El Chapo" is recaptured in Mexico

Recaptured: Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as 'El Chapo', escaped prison for a second time in July
EPA/MARIO GUZMAN
Hannah Al-Othman8 January 2016

Fugitive drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been recaptured by police in Mexico after seven months on the run.

Announcing the arrest, Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto posted on Twitter: "mission accomplished: we have him.

"I want to inform the Mexicans that Joaquin Guzman Loera has been detained."

El Chapo, meaning "Shorty", escaped from maximum security Altiplano prison near Mexico City on July 11 and there has been an active manhunt for him ever since.

The Mexican government had put up a reward of 60m pesos (£2.3m) for information leading to the arrest of the kingpin, who escaped in a mile-long tunnel that led from underneath the shower of his cell.

The head of the Sinaloa cartel, he is considered to be Mexico’s top drug lord.

He was wanted by Mexico, Interpol and the United States, with the US Drug Enforcement Administration naming him the biggest drug lord of all time, after he reportedly surpassed the infamous “cocaine king” Pablo Escobar in 2011.

The United States had also offered a $5m (£3.4m) reward for any information leading to his capture.

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