Among the many existing photographs of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, one stands out showing him inside a vehicle with his left hand resting on his chin. He wears a pensive expression and gazes straight ahead, his head leaning slightly back against the rear seat. Beside him sits Jorge Iván Gastélum—alias ‘El Cholo Iván’—considered his right-hand man.
This image captures the third and final arrest of the Sinaloa kingpin, which took place in early January 2016. Six months earlier, ‘El Chapo’ had managed to escape from the ‘El Altiplano’ prison in the State of Mexico via a tunnel stretching over a kilometer. However, the drug trafficker was apprehended while attempting to reach Los Mochis, Sinaloa.
On the morning of January 9, 2016, federal authorities launched an operation at a property in Los Mochis but were met with gunfire from armed individuals. ‘El Chapo’ and ‘El Cholo’ fled through the sewer system and stole a vehicle. The car was located on the Los Mochis-Navojoa highway, where the two Sinaloa Cartel members were arrested.
Subsequently, Guzmán Loera and Iván Gastélum were taken to a hotel while the Navy awaited reinforcements. The photograph in question was taken during this time; this explains why ‘El Chapo’ is wearing a dirty tank top, while ‘El Cholo’ is shirtless.
From that point on, the two drug traffickers’ paths diverged, though ‘El Cholo’ could face the same fate as his former associate, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
