Drug boss ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán recaptured in Mexico, president announces

Notorious drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has been recaptured in Mexico six months after being sprung from prison, the country's president announced Friday.

“Mission accomplished,” President Enrique Peña Nieto wrote on his Twitter account. “We have him.”

Few details were available of the recapture, but it involved Mexican marines, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Marshals, a senior Mexican police source said.

The Sinaloa cartel boss broke out of a high-security prison through a tunnel in July, sparking a massive manhunt.

The storied trafficking career of El Chapo, or “Shorty,” is legend in Mexico. Under the stewardship of Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo — Mexico's biggest cocaine dealer during the 1980s — Guzmán came to dominate the global cocaine market. In the process, he amassed well over $1 billion and made the list of Forbes world billionaires for four consecutive years. Prior to escaping in 2015 after an arrest the year before, El Chapo also staged a 2001 prison break following a conviction in 1993.

Under his leadership, the Sinaloa cartel bolstered its drug trafficking dominance by branching out into the heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana markets. The cartel's criminal portfolio also includes kidnapping and human trafficking.

Today, Sinaloa operates in 17 Mexican states and as many as 50 countries, including the United States, where it is blamed for 80 percent of the drug trade in certain cities.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Friday lauded Mexican law enforcement for bringing Guzmán to Justice.

“Today’s capture of Joaquín ‘Chapo’ Guzmán Loera by Mexican authorities is a blow to the international drug-trafficking syndicate he is alleged to have led, a victory for the citizens of both Mexico and the United States, and a vindication of the rule of law in our countries,” she said in a statement.

The DEA echoed Lynch’s comments and pledged to continue working with Mexican authorities to stamp out the drug trade.

“The DEA and Mexico have a strong partnership and we will continue to support Mexico in its efforts to improve security for its citizens and continue to work together to respond to the evolving threats posed by transnational criminal organizations,” a DEA statement said.

Guzmán now faces the prospect of extradition to the United States. After coming under fire for failing to do so the last time, Mexico's attorney general's office said in July it approved an order to extradite him north of the border.

He is wanted by U.S. authorities for various criminal charges, including cocaine smuggling and money laundering. An official at the attorney general's office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his extradition would "take time."

A Mexican official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be quoted by name, said Guzmán was apprehended after a shootout with Mexican marines in Los Mochis in his home state of Sinaloa.

Five people were killed and one Mexican marine was wounded in the clash, according to reports.

The Mexican Navy said in a statement that marines acting on a tip raided a home in Los Mochis before dawn. They were fired on from inside the structure. Five suspects were killed and six others arrested. The marine's injuries were not life threatening.

At the home marines seized two armored vehicles, eight long guns, one handgun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Al Jazeera and wire services