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‘El Chapo’ Guzman Gets Special Treatment In New Prison

By Elizabeth Gail
Published on: 07:10 PST, May 13, 2016

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has made headlines for being the most powerful drug lord in the world. And recently, his drug trafficking network was discovered to have a fleet of airplanes numbering 600, a figure that is said to surpass that of Mexico’s national airline. Surprisingly, the figure only represents the number of airplanes captured.

According to El Universal, a Mexican newspaper, statistics from the Mexican defense ministry indicated that the country’s authorities seized 599 aircraft from the Sinaloa cartel between the years 2006 and 2015. In comparison, Mexico’s largest legitimate airline has 127 planes. Apparently, there are about 4,771 clandestine landing strips in the country, each spanning between 550 and 1,100 yards. Most are said to be located in northern Mexico, according to Business Insider.

According to his interview with Sean Penn, El Chapo acknowledged having a fleet of trucks, boats, and airplanes to supply drugs. The following was the statement, according to Rolling Stone.

“I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world. I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats.”

Apparently, his cartel bought Boeing 727 and Caravelles planes, which could travel at speeds of up to 570 mph. According to Mike Vigil, a former chief in the US Drug Enforcement Administration who spoke to Business Insider, only fighter jets could keep up with them.

“The only thing that could stay with [those aircraft] was a fighter jet, and each plane would carry about 15 metric tons of cocaine… They landed them in the desert and if they lost the plane it was no big deal because they were buying them for about $800,000.”

With El Chapo now behind bars, there have undoubtedly been a few changes in the Sinaloa chain of command, with his son, Ivan Guzman, vowing to go ahead with the business even without his father.

He stated this via a tweet, saying, “Nothing changes here, we will continue to work, as my father said, with our heads held high even if [we face difficulties].”

Apart from the airplanes, El Chapo’s cartel also utilizes tunnels to smuggle drugs into the United States. And last year, his cartel’s experience in making them came in handy, helping to spring him out of prison.

It was his second successful escape, with the first being in 2001. He is said to have hidden in a laundry cart pushed out of the prison by a warden the first time round. As a result of his elaborate escape strategies, the Mexican government has become increasingly tense about holding him at any one place for long. Just a few days ago, he was transferred from Altiplano prison, which he had previously escaped from to Cefereso prison in Juarez.

The transfer was said to have been caused by a power outage that occurred at the prison. It disabled visual and audio recording apparatus in the area where El Chapo normally conducted his visitations. The fear that the outage could have been part of an escape plan prompted the authorities to transfer him to a prison in Juarez with President Enrique Peña Nieto’s approval.

Members of the Juarez cartel who were being held in his new prison are said to have been relocated soon after his arrival. Reportedly, the move was to ensure El Chapo’s safety. According to the report, El Chapo is being held in a section of the prison with 40 cells but is the only occupant in the unit. The Juarez cartel is one of the Sinaloa Cartel’s biggest rivals, as reported by the El Paso Times.

[Photo by Eduardo Verdugo/AP Images]

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