“El Chapo” Guzman is transfered to a Federal Police helicopter on February 22, 2014. Photo by Omar Franco Pérez Reyes, copyright Demotix.

In the touristic beach of Mazatlán in the state of Sinaloa in northeast Mexico, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, who goes by the alias El “Chapo”, was taken into custody on charges of drug trafficking, organized crime and several murders.

After Osama bin Laden's assassination by the United States Navy SEAL team in May 2011, El “Chapo” Guzmán became the world's most wanted man. Guzmán was also considered one of the most powerful men on the planet, according to Forbes magazine, which pointed him out as the CEO of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Guzmán had already been in a maximum security prison in Mexico in the state of Jalisco; nonetheless, he escaped under suspicious circumstances in 2001 during the administration of former President Vicente Fox.

The Associated Press was the first news agency to spread the news of the arrest on its Twitter account on February 22, 2014:

BREAKING: US official: Sinaloa drug chief ‘Chapo’ Guzman arrested by US, Mexican authorities in Mexico.

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 22, 2014

On Twitter, the news has been thoroughly commented on, to the point that many have been making jokes on the matter:

No sabía que trabajaba en la C.I.A con tanto experto en seguridad nacional! Hablando sobre la detención del #Chapo

— Guñi (@pupuchurro28) febrero 24, 2014

I didn't know I was working for the C.I.A. with so many national security experts! Speaking about Chapo's arrest

User Pablo M. Aguilar questioned the timing of the drug lord's detention considering a very controversial cover story published by TIME magazine:

Algo curioso es la detención del #Chapo 2 días antes del lanzamiento de la revista Times donde aparece EPN c/ el slogan “Salvando a México”

— Pablo M. Aguilar (@Marmoteishon) febrero 24, 2014

It is curious that El Chapo's arrest happened two days before TIME magazine launched its cover story of EPN [Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto] with the slogan “Saving Mexico”.

Isaias Villa G pointed out that there should be a more exhaustive investigation:

Más que poner en duda o minimizar captura del #Chapo habría que exigir llegar a fondo de sus vínculos en México y EU @NvaIzq @PRDmexico

— Isaias Villa G (@IVilla_g) febrero 24, 2014

Instead of doubting or minimizing Chapo's capture, we should demand to know the extent of his ties with Mexico and the US

John M. Ackerman, a well-known opponent of Enrique Peña Nieto‘s government, said the following regarding El Chapo's arrest:

#ChapoGuzmán fue el narco consentido de Fox y Calderón. ¿Quién será el relevo para la era Peña? Gran “alternancia” democrática.

— John M. Ackerman (@JohnMAckerman) febrero 22, 2014

Chapo Guzmán was Fox's and Calderon's spoiled drug lord. Who'll be the substitute during Peña's era? Great democratic “alternation”.

Journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva [es] talked about the possible involvement of the US Drug Enforcement Administration in Guzmán's detention:

Nosotros, la DEA, atrapamos a El Chapo Guzmán junto con marinos mexicanos. Eso es al menos lo que podía leerse desde anoche en el New York Times, y que se acoplaría con la forma en que se fue conociendo la noticia el sábado.

Antes que cualquier funcionario, AP y el propio New York Times confirmaron, con todo y fotografía, la nota de la captura de El Chapo. ¿Quién les filtró menudo banquete? ¿El gobierno mexicano (por razones que podrían ser entendibles), o fue la DEA? La noticia oficial la dio el presidente Peña Nieto a las 13:43, con un retraso de casi tres horas respecto de los adelantos que salieron de Estados Unidos.

We, the DEA, took El Chapo Guzmán into custody along with Mexican marines. This is at least what the New York Times published last night, and it fits into the way the news broke on Saturday.

Before any officer, the AP and New York Times confirmed, photo included, the news on El Chapo's arrest. Who leaked such a feast? The Mexican government (for reasons that could be understood), or was it the DEA? The official news was given by President Peña Nieto at 13:43, almost three hours after the news got out in the United States.

El “Chapo” Guzmán's arrest came as violence has been getting worse in Michoacán (a state controlled by armed groups that are the enemy of Sinaloa Cartel) and many years after the “war” against organized crime started – which has taken a toll of thousands of Mexican lives. 

This is the second high-profile detention during Enrique Peña Nieto's administration. The previous one being Elba Esther Gordillo's, also known as the “Teacher”, which took place in February 2013.