In recent months, the news of a Mexican drug lord known as “El Chapo” gripped American audiences as he evaded the authorities time and again. Ridge High School students recognized the name as he continued to make headlines. However, few students truly understand who El Chapo is, merely labelling him as another criminal. News-savvy students seek to decipher who the man behind the media circus truly is.

To Ridge High School, Who Is El Chapo?

Emily Wang 19’ remarks, “I believe that El Chapo is bad. He doesn’t have anything that truly show good intentions; therefore, there is no just argument to support him because he resorts to drug dealing to gain money. The fact that he has escaped prison in 2015 shows that he is indeed someone we cannot trust to be safe around.”

Another student, Diego Lopez Mendez 18’, feels the same way: “I believe that El Chapo’s involvement in illegal activity makes him a criminal instead of the Robin Hood figure that the citizens of Sinaloa paint him to be.”

Albert Gu 19’ concurs as well, saying, “Of course, we all know that drug dealers and cartels are bad… I think that the media has really only portrayed El Chapo as the head of the Mexican drug industry.”

After questioning many Ridge Students, it appears that Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán, otherwise known as “El Chapo”, is a figure primarily known as a drug kingpin. Many students refer to him as an infamous drug lord who exists as the epitome of Mexican crime. The people of Sinaloa, Mexico, however, see El Chapo in a different light.

El Chapo, the Modern Robin Hood

Born into a poor farming family in Sinaloa, Mexico, Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera – otherwise known as “El Chapo” or “Shorty” – Guzmán is a notorious Mexican drug lord who led the Sinaloa Cartel. At the age of 15, Guzmán started a marijuana farm along with his cousins in an effort to support his family financially. However, in his 20s, Guzmán decided to pursue opportunities different from working in poppy fields for the remainder of his life. While working for drug lord Héctor “El Güero” Palma and Félix Gallardo, Guzmán swiftly moved up the ranks after the leaders of the Guadalajara Cartel approved of Guzmán’s business strategies, one of which included the execution of smugglers who failed to deliver drug shipments on time.

Utilizing these tactics and connections with other drug lords, Guzmán founded his own cartel, which he expanded to create Mexico’s largest and wealthiest cartel.

Although Guzmán is known as a pragmatic and ruthless leader, many see him as a keeper of peace and a helper to the people. Ordinary people see him as a leader who has stabilized Sinaloa, improved infrastructure by paving roads, and created jobs for people. With a modest background and reputed generosity, El Chapo is extremely well-liked in the area— even more so than the governor of Sinaloa. Following his arrests, residents of the Sinaloa province felt angry and displeased at the news that the government captured their famed Robin Hood.

El Chapo’s Capture

Just six months ago, El Chapo, the leader of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel, escaped from the Altiplano Federal Prison, a maximum security prison similar in design to the Puente Grande Federal Prison, which El Chapo escaped from in 2001 by hiding inside a laundry cart and bribing guards and officials. After 13 years on the run, El Chapo was captured and then sent the Altiplano Federal Prison. Here, the maximum security failed once again to contain the criminal.

By having his henchmen build an elaborate system of tunnels all leading up to the crime lord’s shower stall, El Chapo slipped away from the authorities. This failure once again embarrassed the Mexican government, as it clearly portrayed their incompetence.

El Chapo felt the lure of the silver screen after witnessing the fame and publicity that accompanied Colombia’s Pablo Escobar in TV series, Narcos. Feeling that his life story was Hollywood material, he contacted American actor Sean Penn. He spent hours talking with Sean Penn, who interviewed him for Rolling Stone during a secret meeting somewhere in the Mexican jungle. Several weeks later, Chapo answered follow-up questions through a video that he sent to Penn. The Mexican government states that El Chapo’s interviews with American actor Sean Penn helped locate and apprehend the elusive drug lord.

In an effort to recapture El Chapo, the Mexican government slowly cornered him by raiding his safe houses and capturing his henchmen. By extracting vital information about El Chapo’s safe houses, the Mexican Marines managed to capture the drug lord on January 8, 2016. After months of surveillance on Chapo’s home in Los Mochis, one of the safe houses that Chapo’s lieutenant revealed, Chapo finally arrived at this safe house on January 7. The next morning, seventeen Mexican marines swooped into the safe house; as they broke into the home, the marines met fierce resistance, and one marine was injured. The marines took complete control of the safe house by 6:30 am; by then, however, the drug lord had once again vanished. However, along the Mexican Highway 15, the local police force arrested Mexico’s most dangerous and influential man, and the long chase for El Chapo was finally concluded. As the Mexican President Peña Nieto phrases it, “Mission Accomplished.”