When Gallardo was arrested in 1989 for the murder of a DEA agent, the territories controlled by the Guadalajara Cartel were divided up, allowing Guzmán and a few others to form the Sinaloa Cartel. Guzmán was now firmly on the radar of the U.S. authorities and considered one of Mexico’s most powerful drug traffickers.

Over the coming years, Guzmán took advantage of crackdowns on Columbian cartels to grow his own market share. Soon his empire was shifting multi-ton cocaine shipments from Columbia up to the United States via multiple transportation channels. Part of his success was his creativity in these transportation areas; examples included the smuggling of cocaine powder inside fire extinguishers and cans labelled ‘Chilli Peppers’.

His cartel were also involved in the production and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana. It wasn’t long before the Sinaloa Cartel had operations on five continents and nearly 50 countries, making it the most powerful drug trafficking organisation in the world.

The authorities finally caught up to Guzmán in Guatemala on 9 June 1993. He was extradited to Mexico and sentenced to 20 years in a maximum-security prison on drug and murder charges.

Although behind bars, the powerful influence of El Chapo didn’t abate as he bribed guards to maintain his opulent lifestyle, have conjugal visits and even arrange business meetings allowing him to continue operating his ever-growing drug empire.

In 2001, after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Mexico made extradition between Mexico and the United States easier, Guzmán made an audacious escape. After bribing multiple guards, Guzmán was wheeled out of the prison hidden inside a dirty laundry basket. The escape allegedly cost the drug lord over $2.5 million. Over 70 guards were implicated including the warden, who is now in prison for the part he played.

With a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest announced by the U.S. government, Guzmán went on the run. He eluded law enforcement agencies for 13 years, growing the legend of El Chapo to folk hero status. Many viewed him as a Robin Hood-like figure, aided by stories of him strolling into restaurants, asking his bodyguards to remove everyone’s phones, eating his meal, then returning the phones and picking up the bill for the entire restaurant.

By the time of his next arrest in 2014, El Chapo had become a billionaire. In 2009, Forbes controversially announced him as No.701 on their list of the world’s richest people. This placed his net wealth at a staggering $1 billion! He imported more drugs into the U.S. than anyone else becoming the “leading drug trafficker of all time” according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). His rise to the top of the criminal underworld had come at a staggering cost, unleashing multiple drug wars that have taken the lives of thousands of his countrymen.

El Chapo’s luck ran out on 22 February 2014 after he was captured in a hotel in a beachfront area of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, after a large-scale multi-country operation. No shots were fired.

Mexico refused U.S. requests for Guzmán to be extradited to America, wanting him to face charges in Mexico. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto uttered words that would later come back to haunt him stating that another escape, “would be more than regrettable; it would be unforgivable for the government to not take the precautions to ensure that what happened last time would not be repeated.”