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The formerly powerful Sinaloa drug cartel leader had been in the habit of being mentored by bodyguards. But in January 2017, he was escorted by federal agents, one from the Homeland Security Investigations and the other from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The arrest of Guzman in Mexico a year earlier and his extradition to the United States were the culmination of a nearly 30-year investigation and a hunt to translate it into justice.
The criminal mastermind, who once boasted of his ability to escape capture and even bought a life-story film about his life from filmmakers, looked around him confused with wide-eyed eyes as the agents drove him into a black SUV.
"He was not controlling anything anymore, he lost control," CNN Ray Donovan, the special agent behind the efforts of 22 agencies to capture Guzman, said in an exclusive interview. "He's out of Mexico, he's on American soil, and for me, that feeling of defeat that we felt when he escaped, that's what he felt at that moment: defeat. "
Guzman's long-awaited criminal trial began in November in a federal district court in New York with unprecedented security measures. Guzman pleaded not guilty to 10 charges including conspiracy to launder the proceeds of the drug and the international distribution of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and other drugs.
"I think that before the trial, El Chapo was a household name badociated with wealth, power, fame and fortune," Donovan said. "The trial and all the frightening testimonies of witnesses have brought to the world the true Chapo: a ruthless killer, a money launderer, a violent drug dealer, a manipulator, a liar, an adulteress."
Ultimately, a jury found him guilty on Tuesday for all counts.
Two arrests, many escapes
The story of how Guzman escaped from two maximum security prisons in Mexico before being ousted and arrested by a coordinated team of US and Mexican agents has already been turned into documentaries, in movies for television and even in Netflix series.
But Donovan, who oversaw the multi-agency effort that ultimately knocked down Guzman, tells the story from a totally different angle.
In 2001, Guzman escaped from prison by hiding in a laundry trolley. He was not apprehended again until 2014.
The following year, Guzman escaped again. This time he crawled into a tunnel through an opening in the floor of his shower. It was at this point that Donovan met with Mexican officials to determine who was responsible for the escape and, more importantly, how to resume Guzman.
The Mexican navies did not know which safe houses could be chosen by Guzman, but they were all monitoring them with 24-hour surveillance.
On January 7, 2016, investigators saw Guzman descend from the mountains, said Donovan. According to Donovan, he took a truck, went to another truck and went to a secure house identified several weeks earlier.
A few hours later, the forces of order acted. Once again, Guzman tried to run, this time through a hatch in a closet that led to a sewer tunnel under the shelter.
The forces of order had carried out reconnaissance at home and had heard about the tunnel, filled with water at the time. They followed Guzman, but now many have been left to fight and capture members of the drug lord's security service, including some of Mexico's most dangerous killers.
To not have enough time
Ivan pointed a taxi driver under the threat of a gun and fled into his vehicle. The driver stopped a taxi driver and, moments later, the police forces heard the driver enter the radio and tell others that he had just been hijacked by car.
Guzman and Ivan decided to drop the taxi before the police realized who they were and found a new evacuation vehicle. They chose a car driven by an elderly woman and her grandson, who they also stole under gun threat. But before they could take off, they realized that the engine was smoking and that the car was not running. At that moment, it was too late.
The Mexican Federal Police, who witnessed the second car theft, fled and captured the couple.
The Mexican navies, who also heard the altercation on their radios, rushed to the scene but found no one. A tow truck driver directed them to a nearby motel, where they found the federal police, as well as Guzman and Ivan, in custody in one of the rooms.
"We were jumping for joy," said Donovan, who was leading the operation from his Washington headquarters. "Everyone was happy, imagine what it was like when he escaped, we were defeated, we were deflated, we felt we were losing. 39; efforts. "
Donovan said that Guzman was the brain and muscle of the Sinaloa cartel. And although others are also on their list, Guzman was the one who wanted to fight the other cartels, fighting for control of drug routes to the United States.
"There are evil people in this world, and then there is Chapo Guzman," Donovan said. "There are people who make bad decisions and do bad things, and then there are people who destroy the lives of thousands and thousands of people."
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