--- description: The drug kingpin El Chapo has a long history of capture, escape and recapture. Here's a timeline. title: El Chapo: Timeline of Major Escapes and Captures image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt122399a0a79ef24a/69887836cd1bba4d8f6feda3/chapo-guzman.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Timeline of El Chapo's Major Escapes and Captures  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 8, 2016 7:55 PM CUT  Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted to a helicopter in handcuffs by Mexican Navy marines at a navy hanger in Mexico City on Feb. 22, 2014. Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted to a helicopter in handcuffs by Mexican Navy marines at a navy hanger in Mexico City on Feb. 22, 2014.Eduardo Verdugo—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 8, 2016 7:55 PM CUT Drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been recaptured seven months after he escaped from prison, Mexican authorities [announced Friday](http://time.com/4173312/el-chapo-captured/?xid=homepage "undefined"). But this isn’t the first time El Chapo, leader of the Sinaloa cartel, has been on the lam. The drug kingpin has a long history of capture, escape and recapture. Here are some major dates in Guzman’s timeline (with some information from the [Associated Press](http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-key-dates-in-mexicos-pursuit-of-drug-lord-el-chapo-guzman-2016-1 "undefined")): * June 10, 1993: Mexico announces Guzman’s first capture in Guatemala. But even after Guzman was imprisoned, “He continued to manage his affairs from prison with scarcely a hitch,” [writes Robert Saviano](http://time.com/3966611/roberto-saviano-el-chapo-prison-escape/?xid=homepage "undefined") in his book _ZeroZeroZero_. “The maximum security prison Puente Grande, where he was transferred in 1995, became his new base of operations,” * Jan. 19, 2001: With the help of bribed guards, Guzman escapes from his top-security prison. Saviano [describes the escape](http://time.com/3966611/roberto-saviano-el-chapo-prison-escape/?xid=homepage "undefined"): “One of them—Francisco Camberos Rivera, known as El Chito, or the Silent One—opened the door to El Chapo’s cell and helped him climb into a cart of dirty laundry. They headed down unguarded hallways and through wide-open electronic doors to the inner parking lot, where only one guard was on duty. El Chapo jumped out of the cart and leaped into the trunk of a Chevrolet Monte Carlo.” * Feb. 22, 2014: El Chapo is captured in Mazatlan after hiding in tunnels for days. The success was touted as a huge win for authorities, who by then had deemed Guzman the “[most powerful drug trafficker in the world](http://time.com/3954802/joaquin-el-chapo-guzman-escape/ "undefined").” * July 11, 2015: Guzman escapes through a tunnel from Mexico’s top-security prison. You can see the path he took to escape [here](http://time.com/3961061/el-chapo-path-prison-escape/?xid=homepage "undefined"). * Jan. 8, 2016: He is [once again re-captured](http://time.com/4173312/el-chapo-captured/?xid=homepage "undefined") in Los Mochis, Sinaloa after a shootout with Mexican marines. Five people were killed and one marine was wounded in the fight. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4173454/el-chapo-capture-escape-timeline/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4173454/el-chapo-capture-escape-timeline/"},"headline":"Timeline of El Chapo's Major Escapes and Captures","datePublished":"2016-01-08T19:55:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:55:06.865Z","description":"The drug lord was re-captured seven months after his prison escape","url":"https://time.com/4173454/el-chapo-capture-escape-timeline/","keywords":["Mexico"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt122399a0a79ef24a/69887836cd1bba4d8f6feda3/chapo-guzman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt122399a0a79ef24a/69887836cd1bba4d8f6feda3/chapo-guzman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Joaquin \"El Chapo\" Guzman","caption":"Joaquin \"El Chapo\" Guzman","creditText":"Eduardo Verdugo—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4173454/el-chapo-capture-escape-timeline/","name":"Timeline of El Chapo's Major Escapes and Captures"}}]}] ```