Editing Joaquín Guzmán Loera (section)

=== First runaway and manhunt: 2001–2014 ===

==== Mexican Cartel Wars ====
Since his 2001 escape from prison, Guzmán had been wanting to take over the Ciudad Juárez crossing points, which were under the control of the Carrillo Fuentes family of the Juárez Cartel.<sup>[85]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Despite a high degree of mistrust between the two organizations, the 
Sinaloa and Juárez cartels had a working agreement at the time. Guzmán 
convened a meeting in Monterrey with Ismael Zambada García ("El Mayo"), Juan José Esparragoza Moreno ("El Azul") and Arturo Beltrán Leyva
<nowiki> </nowiki>and they discussed killing Rodolfo Carrillo Fuentes, who was in charge 
of the Juárez Cartel at the time. On 11 September 2004, Rodolfo, his 
wife and two young children were visiting a Culiacán shopping mall. While leaving the mall, escorted by police commander Pedro Pérez López, the family was ambushed by members of [[Los Negros]], assassins for the Sinaloa Cartel. Rodolfo and his wife were killed; the policeman survived.<sup>[85]</sup>

This now meant the city would no longer be controlled only by the 
Carrillo Fuentes family. Instead, the city found itself as the front 
line in the Mexican Drug War
<nowiki> </nowiki>and would see homicides skyrocket as rival cartels fought for control. 
With this act, Guzmán was the first to break the nonaggression "pact" 
the major cartels had agreed to, setting in motion the fighting between 
cartels for drug routes that has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 
December 2006.<sup>[100][101][102]</sup>

When Mexican President Felipe Calderón took office in December 2006, he announced a crackdown on cartels by the Mexican military to stem the increasing violence.<sup>[103]</sup> After four years, the additional efforts had not slowed the flow of drugs or the killings tied to the drug war.<sup>[103]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Of the 53,000 arrests made as of 2010, only 1,000 involved associates 
of the Sinaloa Cartel, which led to suspicions that Calderón was 
intentionally allowing Sinaloa to win the drug war, a charge Calderón 
denied in advertisements in Mexican newspapers, pointing to his 
administration's killing of top Sinaloa deputy "Nacho" Coronel as 
evidence.<sup>[103]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Sinaloa's rival cartels saw their leaders killed and syndicates 
dismantled by the crackdown, but the Sinaloa gang was relatively 
unaffected and took over the rival gangs' territories, including the 
coveted Ciudad Juárez-El Paso corridor, in the wake of the power shifts.<sup>[95]</sup>

==== Relations to the Beltrán Leyva Cartel ====
A ''Newsweek''
<nowiki> </nowiki>investigation alleges that one of Guzmán's techniques for maintaining 
his dominance among cartels included giving information to the DEA and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that led to the arrests of his enemies in the Juárez Cartel, in addition to information that led to the arrests of some of the top Sinaloa leaders.<sup>[88]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>The arrests were speculated by some to have been part of a deal Guzmán 
struck with Calderón and the DEA, in which he intentionally gave up some
<nowiki> </nowiki>of his purported Sinaloa colleagues to U.S. agents in exchange for 
immunity from prosecution, while perpetuating the idea that the Calderón
<nowiki> </nowiki>government was heavily pursuing his organization during the cartel 
crackdown.<sup>[104]</sup>

This became a key factor influencing the break between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltrán Leyva brothers, five brothers who served as Guzmán's top lieutenants, primarily working for the cartel in the northern region of Sinaloa.<sup>[105][106]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Sinaloa lawyer Loya-Castro, who like Guzmán had been wanted on federal 
charges in the United States since 1993, voluntarily approached the DEA 
offering them information in 1998, eventually signing paperwork as a 
formal informant in 2005, and his U.S. indictment was thrown out in 
2008.<sup>[88]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Loya-Castro's leaks to the DEA led to the dismantling of the Tijuana 
Cartel, as well as the Mexican Army's arrest of Guzmán's lieutenant and 
the top commander of the Beltrán Leyva organization, Alfredo Beltrán Leyva (also known as ''El Mochomo'', or "Desert Ant"), in Culiacán in January 2008, with Guzmán believed to have given up El Mochomo for various reasons.<sup>[88][104][106]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Guzmán had been voicing concerns with Alfredo Beltrán's lifestyle and 
high-profile actions for some time before his arrest. After El Mochomo's
<nowiki> </nowiki>arrest, authorities said he was in charge of two hit squads, money 
laundering, transporting drugs and bribing officials.<sup>[105][107]</sup>

That high-profile arrest was followed by the arrest of 11 Beltrán 
Leyva hit squad members in Mexico City, with police noting that the 
arrests were the first evidence that Sinaloa had expanded into the 
capital city.<sup>[105][108]</sup> United States Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza called the arrests a "significant victory" in the drug war.<sup>[105]</sup> With Alfredo in custody, his brother Arturo Beltrán Leyva took over as the brothers' top commander, but he was killed in a shootout with Mexican marines the next year.<sup>[106]</sup>

Whether Guzmán was responsible for Alfredo Beltrán's arrest is not 
known. However, the Beltrán Leyvas and their allies suspected he was 
behind it,<sup>[106]</sup> and after Alfredo Beltrán's arrest, a formal "war" was declared. An attempt on the life of cartel head Zambada's son Vicente Zambada Niebla (''El Vincentillo'') was made just hours after the declaration. Dozens of killings followed in retaliation for that attempt.<sup>[85]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>The Beltrán Leyva brothers ordered the assassination of Guzmán's son, 
Édgar Guzmán López, on 8 May 2008, in Culiacán, which brought massive 
retaliation from Guzmán. They were also fighting over the allegiance of 
the Flores brothers, Margarito and Pedro, leaders of a major, highly 
lucrative cell in Chicago that distributed over two tons of cocaine every month.<sup>[109]</sup> The Mexican military claims that Guzmán and the Beltrán Leyva brothers were at odds over Guzmán's relationship with the Valencia brothers in Michoacán.<sup>[85]</sup>

Following the killing of Guzmán's son Édgar, violence increased. From
<nowiki> </nowiki>8 May through the end of the month, over 116 people were murdered in 
Culiacán, 26 of them police officers. In June 2008, over 128 were 
killed; in July, 143 were slain.<sup>[85]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Additional 2,000 troops were deployed to the area, but it failed to 
stop the turf war. The wave of violence spread to other cities like Guamúchil, Guasave and Mazatlán.

However, the Beltrán Leyva brothers were doing some double-dealing of their own. Arturo and Alfredo had met with top members of Los Zetas in Cuernavaca,
<nowiki> </nowiki>where they agreed to form an alliance to fill the power vacuum. They 
would not necessarily go after the main strongholds, such as the Sinaloa
<nowiki> </nowiki>and Gulf Cartel; instead, they would seek control of southern states 
like Guerrero (where the Beltrán Leyvas already had a big stake), Oaxaca, Yucatán and Quintana Roo. They worked their way into the center of the country, where no single group had control.<sup>[85]</sup> The Beltrán Leyva organization allied with the Gulf Cartel and its hit squad Los Zetas against Sinaloa.<sup>[108]</sup>

The split was officially recognized by the U.S. government on 30 May 
2008. On that day, it recognized the Beltrán Leyva brothers as leaders 
of their own cartel. President George W. Bush designated Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva and the Beltrán Leyva Organization as subject to sanction under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act ("Kingpin Act").<sup>[85][110]</sup>

==== First manhunt ====
Guzmán was notable among drug lords for his longevity and evasion of 
authorities, assisted by alleged bribes to federal, state and local 
Mexican officials.<sup>[16][18][111]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Despite the progress made in arresting others in the aftermath of 
Guzmán's escape, including a handful of his top logistics and security 
men, the huge military and federal police manhunt failed to capture 
Guzmán for years. In the years between his escape and capture, he was 
Mexico's most-wanted man.<sup>[112]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>His elusiveness from law enforcement made him a near-legendary figure 
in Mexico's narcotics folklore; stories abounded that Guzmán sometimes 
strolled into restaurants, his bodyguards confiscating peoples' 
cellphones, he ate his meal, and then left after paying everyone's tab.<sup>[113]</sup> Rumors circulated of Guzmán being seen in different parts of Mexico and abroad.<sup>[114]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>For more than thirteen years, Mexican security forces coordinated many 
operatives to rearrest him, but their efforts were largely in vain 
because Guzmán appeared to be steps ahead from his captors.<sup>[115]</sup>

Although his whereabouts were unknown, the authorities thought that he was likely hiding in the "Golden Triangle" (Spanish: ''Triángulo Dorado''), an area that encompasses parts of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua in the Sierra Madre region. The region is a major producer of marijuana and opium poppy in Mexico,<sup>[116]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>and its remoteness from the urban areas makes it an attractive 
territory for the production of synthetic drugs in clandestine 
laboratories and for its mountains that offer potential hideouts.<sup>[117][118][119]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Guzmán reportedly commanded a sophisticated security circle of at least
<nowiki> </nowiki>300 informants and gunmen resembling the manpower equivalent to those 
of a head of state. His inner circle would help him move around through several isolated ranches in the mountainous area and avoid capture.<sup>[114][120]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>He usually escaped from law enforcement using armored cars, aircraft, 
and all-terrain vehicles, and was known to employ sophisticated 
communications gadgetry and counterespionage practices.<sup>[120][121]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Since many of these locations in the Golden Triangle can only be 
reached over single-track dirt roads, local residents easily detected 
the arrival of law enforcement or any outsiders. Their distrust towards 
non-residents and their aversion towards the government, alongside a 
combination of bribery and intimidation, helped keep the locals loyal to
<nowiki> </nowiki>Guzmán and the Sinaloa Cartel in the area. According to law enforcement
<nowiki> </nowiki>intelligence, attempting to have launched an attack to capture Guzmán 
by air would have had similar results; his security circle would have 
warned him of the presence of an aircraft 10 minutes away from Guzmán's 
location, giving him ample time to escape the scene and avoid arrest. In
<nowiki> </nowiki>addition, his gunmen reportedly carried surface-to-air missiles that 
may bring down aircraft in the area.<sup>[120]</sup>