Homes of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, Fellow Drug Lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes in Mexico Are Now Owned by Lottery Winners

Winners in a special lottery raffle held by the government of Mexico have won the houses of Mexican drug cartel bosses Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Amado Carrillo Fuentes.

El Chapo's home located in Culiacan, Sinaloa was among the 20 impounded properties that were raffled off in a National Lottery grand draw on Wednesday, AFP News reported.

The lucky winner of El Chapo's house holds the raffle ticket number 1,438,619. However, the identity of the new owner has been kept secret.

It was the same house from where the most well-known Sinaloa cartel leader fled through an underground drainage system to elude the Mexican navy in 2014 but was captured six days later.

A storm drain right next door had allowed El Chapo to build his tunnel under the bathtub. The said tunnel was connected to six other homes.

The former Sinaloa cartel leader escaped from a Mexican prison in 2015, but he was arrested again in 2016 and deported to the United States the following year.

Independent reported that the former Sinaloa cartel boss' property was a bare-walled bungalow with low ceilings and bars on the windows and surrounded by a tall metal fence. It has two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, garage, and a front garden.

Mexican officials told the Associated Press that they were surprised it had got any attention and that the neighbors did not know who previously owned it. El Chapo's home, worth an estimated $184,000, had failed to sell after three times at auction.

RELATED ARTICLE: Joaquin' El Chapo' Guzman Mansions, Aztec Stadium Luxury Box Among Raffle Prizes up for Sale: Mexico Government

Other Seized Properties of Mexican Drug Cartel Bosses El Chapo and Amado Carrillo Fuentes

El Chapo's 10,000 square-foot estate in Tlalpan was also reported to be among the lottery prizes. The estate costs around $4 million and comes with nine bedrooms, an indoor pool, jacuzzis, a wine cellar, and a party salon.

Also among the prizes was a Mexico City mansion that belonged to former Juarez cartel boss Amado Carrillo Fuentes, known as "The Lord of The Skies."

Carrillo Fuentes' mansion was reported to be worth about $3.8 million. It has an indoor pool, a jacuzzi, a bar and a wine cellar and is surrounded by large gardens. According to the public listing, Amado Carrillo Fuentes' house is fully furnished.

The mansion of the former Juarez cartel boss was reportedly auctioned in May 2020 for about $2 million, but the purchase did not materialize, so it has been added to the raffle.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes was known for using a fleet of cargo planes to transport cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and on to the U.S. He died in a botched plastic surgery in 1997.

Aside from the properties previously owned by the former Mexican drug cartel bosses, the lottery prizes also include a historic box at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca.

The box is where former Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid handed the World Cup trophy to Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona after the 1986 Argentina victory.

The listing noted that the stadium box has a 20-person capacity, a bathroom, and four parking spaces. It is currently valued at $1 million and good through 2065.

Mexico has previously auctioned six other homes of El Chapo in 2019. Three of those were sold, with an amount total of $227,844.

The Sinaloa cartel and Juarez cartel are among the most powerful drug-trafficking syndicates in the world.

Mexico's Special Lottery Raffle

Ernesto Prieto, head of Mexico's Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People (Indep), said the goal of the raffle was to turn properties with heavy maintenance costs into "a tangible benefit for society." Indep is the agency responsible for managing the seized properties.

The Mexican government said the money raised from the lottery would go to the athletes who joined the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games.

In June, the Mexican government announced that it would hold a "mega raffle" with 22 prizes valued at $12.5 million. At the time, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the money raised from the special lottery would be given back to the people.

Lopez Obrador noted that the money would help the government purchase vaccines and medicines. He added that it would also be used to finance scholarships and cover wellness programs, Business Insider reported.

READ MORE: Sinaloa Cartel Founder 'El Guero' Is Still in Custody of Mexican Authorities

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

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