Mexican Drug Kingpin Proves Tough to Catch

 

"MEXICO CITY -- Mexican special forces blasted into a safe house in the Sinaloa cartel stronghold of Culiacan this year looking for Mexico's most wanted man: Ivan Archivaldo Guzman.

The son of Sinaloa cartel founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and leader of the cartel's most powerful faction narrowly evaded capture, Mexican officials said. A cabinet in a bathroom obscured the entrance to a tunnel where he escaped as special forces moved in.

The tunnel stretched three blocks to a vacant home, said a Mexican official familiar with the operation. Guzman left more than 15 burner phones at the house, along with laptops, family photos and a room full of sports memorabilia, the official said.

Guzman, 41 years old, took over the business after El Chapo was captured in 2016, extradited to the U.S. and sentenced to life in a maximum-security prison for drug trafficking in 2019.

The Justice Department says Guzman is one of the world's biggest fentanyl traffickers. He has a $10 million bounty on his head. But he has evaded Mexico's special forces with tactics made famous by his father.

El Chapo escaped from his maximum-security prison in 2015 through a mile-long tunnel equipped with a motorcycle mounted on rails and disappeared by helicopter.

U.S. prosecutors consider El Chapo's son one of the most brutal of a new generation of "narcojuniors" who have risen to the top of the Sinaloa cartel and its lucrative diversification into fentanyl smuggling. It was Guzman who rallied hundreds of Sinaloa gunmen and forced the army to free his brother Ovidio after soldiers captured him in 2019.

Ovidio was recaptured four years later after a battle that killed more than 150 Sinaloa gunmen and 10 soldiers. He was extradited to the U.S., where he is expected soon to make a plea deal with prosecutors.

As head of the "Chapitos" faction led by El Chapo's sons, Ivan Archivaldo is waging a turf war against a rival gang. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has been under pressure from the U.S. to capture him.

The manhunt for Guzman shows how difficult it is to take down kingpins with deep support in their strongholds.

Guzman has proven a formidable target. A legion of gunmen provide concentric security circles and move with him throughout Culiacan. Informants across the city alert his team to suspicious activity, Mexican officials said.

Police on his payroll alert him of pending raids, people said familiar with his routine. Airport workers track arrivals at Culiacan's airport. Hotel staff keep tabs on guests. And everyone from tamale vendors to windshield washers are Guzman's eyes as he dodges Mexican authorities.

Guzman rarely makes phone calls to avoid wiretapping. He keeps a distance from his wife and children, who could lead authorities to his whereabouts, a Mexican official said.

Still, in February federal forces were closing in.

They captured one of Guzman's most trusted pilots and two lieutenants from his inner security detail who led them to Guzman's safe house.

One evening, a team of 15 special forces pounded the front door with a battering ram. But it wouldn't give. It was made of layers of reinforced steel, like those of El Chapo's safe houses, the official said.

Special forces rammed an armored vehicle into the entrance, blowing down the door. They saw Guzman family photos on the walls and sensed he had been there moments earlier, said people familiar with the operation.

They moved down a hall, only to encounter another bulletproof, reinforced door. They broke through with a battering ram, these people said, to a room containing military-grade weapons and more Guzman family photos.

Entering a bathroom they found an all-too-familiar scene: A cabinet holding toothpaste and toothbrushes stood ajar. Behind it was a well-lit tunnel, tall enough to walk through, leading down beneath the house." [1]

 

1. World News: Mexican Drug Kingpin Proves Tough to Catch. Fisher, Steve; de Cordoba, Jose.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 13 May 2025: A8.