The Power Of El Chapo's Drug Tunnels

Joaquín Guzmán Loera also known as "El Chapo," is considered the world's most powerful drug trafficker.

Although the drug kingpin has been incarcerated, being found guilty of more than 10 counts of criminal activity, including drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons violations in the pursuit of violence, people are still wondering how he rose to power.

Throughout the trial, evidences painted a damning picture of El Chapo's violent acts as the leader of the Sinaloa cartel. But in addition to gruesome anecdotes, the evidences also revealed one of the cartel boss' most important tools behind his thriving drug trade: tunnels.

According to an article by Vox, El Chapo's subterranean inclinations ultimately shaped his career throughout the past four decades. In the late 1980s, the United States led a crackdown on Colombian drug trafficking routes, but El Chapo was in the right place at the right time, with the right idea.

As Columbian drug cartels were suffering a major blow, El Chapo built tunnels along the southern border of the United States, which gained him an edge on his drug trafficking competitors, allowing him to claim new responsibilities as a supplier and distributor of drugs.

The tunnels' success could be attributed to larger shifts taking place in the drug trade that increased narcotics trafficking through Mexico and lowered cocaine supply from Colombia. A video by Vox shows how El Chapo learned to take advantage of the opportunity these shifts created, and how tunnels became crucial to his success as the Sinaloa cartel's leader. Over time, the tunnel evolved to include other facilities like elevators, ventilation systems, rail systems, and other high-tech innovations that facilitated the smooth transport of massive amounts of narcotics.

But he wasnt just using tunnels for drugs. He also used it, of course, as an escape route.

In 2014, investigators discovered seven houses in Culiacan, Mexico, connected by secret tunnels that also tied in with the sewage system.

Using a hidden hatch under a bathtub, El Chapo was able to move from one house to another 3 kilometers (almost 2 miles) away.

Thanks to the network of tunnels, Guzman was able to slip out of sight once again.

The almost wild goose chase ended when authorities nabbed him later in a beachside hideaway in Mazatlan, a resort city about 200 kilometers (125 miles) away.

However, El Chapo didn't remain behind bars for long. Just like a scene from Shawshank Redemption, he broke out of Mexico's maximum-security Altiplano prison through a tunnel in July 2015, just 14 months after he was arrested.

After Guzman's escape, authorities said they made a shocking discovery in his prison cell: a lighted and ventilated tunnel, replete with tracks and a modified motorcycle inside.

El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel, founded in the late 1980s, is one of the largest drug trafficking groups in the world according to the US government. The group controls much of Mexico's north-west part.

Due to the domination of his drug cartel, El Chapo was once listed as one of the world's richest man.

Sinaloa Cartel is known for being very violent and has kidnapped, tortured and slaughtered members of other cartels.

When El Chapo's son Ovidio Guzmán Lopez was captured in 2019, the cartel openly fought with the army in daylight, forcing the Mexican government to free the younger Guzman.