MEXICO CITY (AP) - The world's most-wanted drug lord was captured for a third time in a raid Friday by Mexican marines, six months after he tunneled out of a maximum security prison in a made-for-Hollywood escape that embarrassed the government and strained ties with the U.S.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced the capture of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, writing in his Twitter account: "mission accomplished: we have him."
Few had thought Guzman would be taken alive, and few now believe Mexico will want to try to hold him a third time in Mexican prisons. He escaped from maximum-security facilities in 2001 and on July 11, 2015, the second breakout especially humiliating for the Pena Nieto administration, which only held him for less than 18 months. The U.S. has sought his extradition, though Mexico in the past has said he would serve sentences here first.
But Pena Nieto gave a brief live message Friday afternoon that focused heavily on touting the competency of his administration, which has suffered a series of embarrassments and scandals in the first half of his presidency.
"The arrest of today is very important for the government of Mexico. It shows that the public can have confidence in its institutions," Pena Nieto said. "Mexicans can count on a government decided and determined to build a better country."
Guzman was apprehended after a shootout with Mexican marines in Los Mochis, a seaside city, said a federal official. He said Guzman was taken alive and was not wounded.