Fugitive drug lord 'El Chapo' injured in narrow escape from capture

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán
(Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Fugitive drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was believed to be injured recently as he evaded capture, CNN reports the Mexican government said in a statement Friday.

El Chapo has been on the run since he escaped from a maximum security prison in July, reportedly exiting through a mile-long tunnel he arranged to construct.

Authorities did not say exactly where or when the operation to recapture him took place, or how the top drug lord sustained injuries to his face and leg, only specifying that they were "not the result of a direct confrontation."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.