US to seek extradition of Mexican drug baron, Guzman

Guzman after his capture

Judicial authorities in the United States say they will seek the extradition of the world’s top drug baron, Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, British Broadcasting Corporation reports.

Guzman, the leader of the Sinaloa drugs cartel, was arrested in Mexico on Saturday after 13 years on the run.

He was detained in the beach resort of Mazatlan without a shot being fired.

He is wanted in the US on charges of smuggling vast amounts of drugs into the country, but Mexican authorities are also likely to want to charge him.

A spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said prosecutors there “planned to seek his extradition”.

But an official in the Mexican attorney general’s office said Guzman would first have to serve the remainder of his jail sentence before being extradited.

In 2001, Guzman escaped from a high-security jail in Mexico hidden in a laundry basket. He was eight years into his 20-year sentence.

Chairman of the US House Homeland Security Committee Michael  McCaul said extraditing Guzman to the United States would prevent another escape.

“I think that would be the best course not only for Mexico, but also the United States, in ensuring that what happened in 2001 does not happen again,” he told ABC television.

Guzman is also likely to face fresh charges in Mexico, including drug trafficking, involvement in organised crime and possession of weapons restricted to the military.

Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel is believed to be one of the biggest criminal organisations in the world, trafficking drugs into more than 50 countries worldwide.

Forbes magazine has estimated Guzman’s fortune at about $1bn (£0.6bn).

His capture has been hailed as a major victory for the government of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Guzman was arrested by Mexican marines working with US law enforcement officials in the early hours of Saturday.

He was detained in a four-storey condominium in Mazatlan, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, where he was hiding with a bodyguard and, according to some sources, with a woman believed to be his wife.

Guzman had a military-style assault rifle on him but no shots were fired.