Around the world, there were plenty of drug lords from men like Pablo Escobar to women like Griselda Blanco, but there were few as infamous as El Chapo who has already become something of a legend. Former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, El Chapo has been arrested twice in the past for various drug-related offenses but escaped from prison twice only to be recaptured and now faces a trial that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars..
El Chapo Biography
Much of the world knows him as El Chapo, but his real name is actually Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera. The drug kingpin was born on April 4, 1957, in La Tuna, municipality of Badiraguato, Sinaloa, Mexico. Also called the Last Godfather, Guzmán was raised in a very poor family. His mother was María Consuelo Loera Pérez and his father was Emilio Guzmán Bustillos, a cattle rancher.
He was raised alongside two younger sisters and four younger brothers. He also had three older brothers who are believed to have died while still young of natural causes. As a child, he dropped out of school before being kicked out of the house for trying to protect his younger siblings when his father beat them.
After being deported, he continued to live with his grandfather before going to work for his uncle, Pedro Avilés Pérez, who was known as one of the first drug lords in Mexico. This was the beginning of the journey for Guzmán who would later be described as one of the most prolific, violent and powerful drug cartel leaders of all time.
His first job, however, was for Héctor “ElGüero” Palma who was a drug lord, El Chapo transported drugs for him, overseeing their shipment to areas near the US-Mexico border. Soon he will be known for his violent way of running business which helped him rise through the ranks.
In the 1980s, following an internal cartel crisis, Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera took advantage of the situation to take over other drug operations. Controlling much of the market, he became involved in the cartel conflict from 1989 to 1993, which left many dead, including that of Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, cardinal and archbishop of Guadalajara, caught in the crossfire.
After the conflict he was captured in Guatemala in 1993 and extradited to Mexico where he was sentenced to 20 years in prison but he escaped in 2001. At that time his drug empire was the largest . The next time he would be caught again was in 2014 in Mexico, but he would flee for the second time in 2015. But this time he was caught again in 2016.
His trial (where is he now?)
Following his drug crimes which saw him empire over $10 billion and becoming an even worse drug lord than Pablo Escobar for notoriety Al Capone, he has 10 charges against him in his country of Mexico and also federal charges in the United States in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New York and New Hampshire.
He is charged on US soil for things like facilitating organized health crime, money laundering, homicide, conspiracy to import and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of fire arms. After his third arrest, he was extradited to the United States on the condition that even if found guilty he would not be sentenced to death.
He was eventually extradited to the United States on January 9, 2017, and in his first court appearance he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His trial was scheduled to start on September 5, 2018 but was later postponed to November 5, 2018. The trial is expected to last four months.
That said, El Chapo is now in the United States where he faces trial.
Wife, son and other children of El Chapo)
Guzmán has been married more than once in the past. The first woman he married was Alejandrina María Salazar Hernández in 1977. His next wife was Griselda Lopez Perez whom he married only 3 years after his first marriage. At the age of 57, he married beauty queen Emma Coronel Aispuro who was only 18 at the time.
Estela Pena is another woman he reportedly got married. Although she rejected him, he kidnapped her before she became his wife. Then there was also Zulema Hernandez who, despite not having married him, struck up a relationship with him before she was later killed by people believed to be Guzmán’s rivals.
El Chapo had three children with his first wife, including a son, Caesar, who was later killed. The drug lord also had four children with his second wife. Most of his family members are also involved in the drug trade. With Emma Coronel Aispuro he has twin daughters, Maria Joaquina and Emali Guadalupe.
the size
El Chapo is not the tallest man you will ever meet. In fact, it was because of his size or lack thereof that he was given the nickname, El Chapo which means “Shorty” in Spanish. He has a height of 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) and a body weight of 91 kg (201 lb).