On Monday, we saw a preview of the dramatic raid footage that ended in Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman‘s recapture by Mexican authorities. Those 30 seconds (excerpted from 50 minutes of footage from CNN’s Televisa affiliate) showed Marines launching grenades into the structure housing El Chapo. Amid the gunfire, five cartel members were killed while El Chapo temporarily escaped into a manhole. He traipsed through the sewer, emerged, and stole a car, but authorities nabbed him before he disappeared again.
Now, an extended video shows a full 15 minutes of GoPro action from Friday morning’s mission, known as Operation “Cisne Negro” (Black Swan). The mayhem-filled clip ends as the soldiers realize that El Chapo is nowhere inside the two-story structure. We may see a lot more when the full 50 minutes of footage surface. Whether we’ll actually see El Chapo’s arrest and his reaction (“my holidays are over”) will remain a mystery (until it isn’t).
The tunnel-crazy kingpin now sits in the same Mexican prison that came under fire for his escape last July. The warden and 71 other employees were brought up on charges after El Chapo slipped through their fingers. Of course, El Chapo’s plan may not have been a secret to all charged. His vast network of connections made anything possible, even a secret construction project that led to his underground escape on a motorcycle. Ironically, it was his attempt at forging a Hollywood connection that led to the drug lord’s undoing.
(Via Vice)