On Jan. 8, the Mexican government announced the successful capture of drug lord and cartel leader, Joaquín "El Cahpo" Guzmán.

Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto announced through social media that the drug lord was finally in government hands after being captured in the city of Los Mochis, Sinaloa.

"Mission accomplished: we have him," he tweeted. "I want to inform Mexicans that Joaquín Guzmán Loera has been detained."

The president followed that with a second tweet thanking those responsible for the capturing Guzmán.

"My appreciation to the Security Cabinet of the Government of the Republic for this important win in favor of the law in Mexico," he added.

The Mexican navy released photos of Guzmán to the media, which were then shared by Univision on social media.

The network shared the first images of the famous drug lord on their Instagram account, along with a few photos that show where he was recaptured and the various weapons in his possession.

On their Instagram account, "El Gordo y la Flaca" also shared a photo of the moment Guzmán was handcuffed inside of the house that he was staying in and a video that shows Mexican authorities transferring the notorious criminal from a car to a private plane.

The Mexican navy conducted the recapture of Guzman in a town in Los Mochis very early on Friday morning after receiving a tip.

The capture was preceded by a shoot out between Guzmán's men and Mexican marines. Six were arrested and five suspects were killed.

Back in July of 2015, Guzmán led Mexican authorities on a search that lasted many months following his escape from the federal prison through an underground tunnel.

The escape embarrassed the Mexican government because this was not the cartel leader's first escape.

In 2001, he escaped prison in a laundry cart after bribing prison guards. In 2014, he was recaptured after over a decade of being in hiding.

Since his escape, the Mexican navy has been leading the search and fight against the Mexican cartel because of possible corruption from the army and local police enforcement.

Just a few days prior to his capture, The Washington Post reported U.S. law enforcement officials believed "El Chapo's" days were numbered. 

"He's getting old, and he's getting sloppy. Everyone is looking for him, and we'll get him again," said an unnamed DEA analyst.