Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, 41, son of infamous drug lord El Chapo, escaped capture by the Mexican Army and police this week after clambering through a tunnel
The son of infamous drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán has escaped the law through a tunnel – just like his old man.
Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, 41, the eldest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s children, avoided being captured in dramatic circumstances during the joint army and police raid in Culiacán, Mexico on Wednesday. He is the leader of Los Chapitos, a faction of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, and is on a list of Mexican drug traffickers most wanted by the US government. A $10million (£7.9million) reward has been offered by the US Department of State for information leading to Iván’s arrest or conviction.
While Iván Archivaldo reportedly escaped the house in the Tierra Blanca by clambering through the tunnel, his associates – including José Ángel Canobbio Inzunza, Kevin Alonso Gil Acosta, José Alonso Acosta López, and Gustavo Acosta López – were arrested in the raid, accused of links to fentanyl trafficking. Mexican Army and the National Guard helicopters continued to circle the area in the hours that followed the raid as they searched for Ivan.
The Los Chapitos leader is said to be under extreme stress from repeated raids on his cartel during a recent crackdown. Two of his brothers have been arrested in recent years and remain in prison in the US. Mexican journalist José Luis Montenegro, an expert in security and drug trafficking, said Ivan “is no longer sleeping” and “is truly terrified of what might happen” if he was caught.
Mr Montenegro also likened the escape to his father’s daring tunnel prison break just under ten years ago. On July 11, 2015, El Chapo crawled out of Mexico’s Altiplano prison through a secretly constructed 1.5-mile tunnel. Equipped with lighting and ventilation, the tunnel started in the shower area of his cell and led to a small house in a nearby field.
It was El Chapo’s second prison escape after a previous successful attempt involving a laundry basket in 2001. He was eventually recaptured in January 2016 and later extradited to the United States, where he is now serving a life sentence.
Ivan is wanted by US authorities in connection with an Arizona state investigation into the Sinaloa Cartel. Investigators say he and his three brothers inherited El Chapo’s drug trafficking networks. In April 2023, a federal arrest warrant for Ivan Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar was issued in the Northern District of Illinois for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, running a continuing criminal enterprise, and money laundering. A description on the US Immigration and Drugs Enforcement website reads: “Guzman Salazar is a fugitive and is known to possess firearms. He should be considered armed and dangerous.”
