The saga of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been a matter of media speculation and insane social media outbursts since his escape back in July. He’s scared off guys like Dog The Bounty Hunter (which is a bit misleading since bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico) and apparently fought with Donald Trump over social media, resulting in an alleged bounty on Trump’s head.
Now word has come that El Chapo escaped from police and marines searching for him in North West Mexico, and the escape may have left him injured according to The Guardian:
In a statement, the Mexican government said it had worked with international agencies to capture Guzman, and that in recent weeks, efforts had been focused on the north-west of the country, not far from Guzman’s native turf of Sinaloa state.
“As a result of these actions, and to avoid his capture, in recent days, the fugitive engaged in a hasty retreat, which, according to the information received, caused him injuries to one leg and the face,” the government statement said.
“It’s important to clarify that these injuries were not a product of a direct clash,” the statement added, without giving further information.
Now the statement leads us to believe that El Chapo and his squad snuck away in the darkness, possibly just slipping by and avoiding conflict. Not the case according to Al Jazeera:
Citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the operation, it said the troops raided the ranch with helicopters, but turned back after taking fire from Guzmen’s gunmen.
The marines later went in on foot and found cellphones, medication and two-way radios. Guzman and his henchmen are believed to have fled in all-terrain vehicles, the network said.
If this doesn’t turn into some sort of Hollywood film, at least as an inspiration, some executive is liable to destroy his office in a stress fit. There isn’t a stress ball large enough to work through that kind of missed opportunity. It could even feature a Donald Trump cameo, on the chopper, possibly as the guy who takes down El Chapo in the end.
(Via The Guardian / Al Jazeera)