Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Drug Kingpin

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Drug Kingpin

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
From humble origins to infamous drug lord. The life of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.
In a small, remote village inthe rugged Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico,
Little Joaquin Guzman was born into povertyin nineteen fifty seven. No one
could have guessed that this unremarkable peasantboy would grow up to become the world's

(00:20):
most powerful drug trafficker and the legendaryoutlaw known as El Chapo. Shorty.
Joaquin grew up in the Golden Triangle, a lawless region of Mexico ideal for
growing marijuana and opium poppies. Hishometown, Latuna, was firmly under the
control of the Guadalajara Cartel, ledby notorious king pin Miguel Angel Felix Galardo.

(00:47):
Surrounded by the drug trade from infancy, Joaquin dropped out of elementary school
to work on a marijuana farm atage fifteen. He quickly earned a reputation
as a shrewd worker with ambition farbeyond his small village. In the nineteen
seventies, Joaquin left Latuna in searchof opportunity. He connected with the Guadalajara

(01:11):
cartel and began working as a driverand confidant for Felix Gallardo himself, Joaquin
soaked up the tricks of the tradeas he delivered drug shipments across the Mexican
American border. Before long, thekeen, young smuggler won Galardo's trust and
became one of his top lieutenants,but Joaquin had no intentions of playing second

(01:34):
fiddle forever. By nineteen eighty nine, Gallardo's sprawling operation was at its peak,
raking in and estimated five billion dollarsannually. That year, in a
machismo show of force, the Mexicangovernment arrested Galardo. Sensing weakness, Joaquin
pounced on the splintered remnants of Galado'sgang in a rapid and ruthless power grab.

(01:57):
He founded the Cineloa Cartel with othertraffickers loyal to him. At just
thirty two years old, Joaquin wasnow head of the largest drug cartel Mexico
had ever seen. Under Elchapo's ironfisted leadership, the Cineloa Cartel dominated the
lucrative smuggling routes between Mexico and theeastern United States. Throughout the nineteen nineties

(02:20):
and early two thousands, Joaquin pioneeredcreative new methods of transporting narcotics across the
border, from hot pepper cans tofake bananas. At the height of his
power, his empire was estimated tomake up to three billion a year.
Meanwhile, Joaquin reveled in his largerthan life outlaw image. He threw wild
parties overflowing with fine tequila, beautifulwomen, and live bands. He built

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luxurious hideaways in the mountains, packedwith pet tigers, panthers, and lions.
And yet he never forgot his humbleroots. Joaquin showered his hometown with
gifts and public works projects to gainthe villager's loyalty and protection. I supply
more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine,and marijuana than anybody else in the world.

(03:12):
I have a fleet of submarines,airplanes, trucks and boats, he
once boasted to a journalist. Hissmirking nonchalance only added to El Chapo's rakish
mystique. By two thousand and four, however, pressure was mounting from both
sides of the border to take downthe short drug lord once and for all.

(03:32):
With the DEA and Mexican military closingin, Joaquin decided to temporarily step
back from his illicit empire and lielow. In an ironic twist, he
was arrested on minor corruption charges bythe Mexican government in twenty fourteen, just
as he was hoping to return toaction. But if authorities thought El Choppa

(03:53):
would go quietly, they had anotherthing coming. In July twenty fifteen,
Joaquin vanished without a trace from Mexico'smaximum security Altiplano prison. As guards frantically
searched his cell, they discovered anelaborate mile long tunnel leading outside to freedom,

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complete with lighting, ventilation, arail system, and Joaquin's signature brazen
taunt, a wooden sign that readtunnel to Joaquin Guzman Loerra. It seemed
El Chapo's legend was only growing.The dramatic prison break ignited a furious man
hunt across all of Mexico. Aftersix months on the run, Joaquin hoped

(04:39):
to secretly meet with Hollywood actor SeanPenn and Mexican actress Kate del Castillo to
discuss making a biopic of his life. The spur of the moment rendezvous would
prove to be his undoing. Mexicanmarines traced the actors straight to El Chappo's
coastal hideout in Los Moochese. Whatensued on from January eighth, twenty sixteen

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was like a scene from an actionmovie. Fleeing the raid through a hidden
door under a bathtub, El Chapoand his associate stole cars from a stunned
neighborhood couple at gunpoint. They ledpursuing authorities on a wild, high speed
chase through the streets that ended abruptlywhen Joaquin crashed his bullet riddled BMW into

(05:24):
a tree. Officers swarmed the batteredcar and descended upon their prize catch the
notorious leader of the Cineloa cartel himself. After his improbable capture, Joaquin was
extradited to face charges in the UnitedStates. Prosecutors hit him with a staggering

(05:45):
seventeen count indictment in federal court inBrooklyn. Over an intense twelve week trial,
lurid details emerged of El Chapo's unspeakablebrutality, perverse lifestyle, and nearly
thirty year criminal career. The mountainof evidence was undeniable. In twenty nineteen,
Joaquin was convicted on all ten countsof wide ranging international drug trafficking offenses.

(06:11):
He was sentenced to life in prison, plus thirty years in Colorado's Supermax
facility, the highest security prison inAmerica. And yet, even as Joaquin
sits alone in his barren cell fortwenty three hours a day, his mythical
aura still looms large in Mexico's culturalpsyche. Sensational media coverage, and popular

(06:33):
narco corridos folk ballads celebrate his ragsto richest tail as the legendary outlaw who
beat impossible odds time and again beforehis luck finally ran out. But for
all the myths swirling around El Chapo, the thousands of lives destroyed by the
vast drug network he built provide asobering reality in the end. Whether hero

(06:59):
or villain, Joaquin Guzman's indelible impacton Mexico's history won't soon be forgotten.