After a well-known drug dealer was recently arrested, his name is being actively discussed in the press. Perhaps the name of Joaquin Guzman, nicknamed “Shorty”, will not tell you much, but in Mexico he is no less popular than movie stars or politicians. His biography includes a number of interesting facts that you can read right now. So who is Guzmán Joaquin?
Difficult childhood
It is noteworthy that the exact date of birth is indicated in the press in different ways. Both 1954 and 1957 are considered the year of Joaquin's birth. And all because the conspiracy required it, as soon as he became famous. Guzman Joaquin was born in Mexico as one of seven children and from childhood he learned all the “charms” of a beggarly existence. His parents lived on a farm and kept cattle, which they instructed their children to look after. However, it cannot be said that the family was downright starving, although they lived without income. However, the future drug lord remembered these years for a long time: as if wanting to change the past, in the present, Guzman always sought to increase capital and dreamed of luxury, which he achieved infairly short period. In 2011, he was ranked second on the list of the richest people in Mexico. True, such we alth appeared due to exclusively “dirty” methods.
Finding my way
As a help to his parents, Guzmán Joaquín sold oranges grown on the family farm: the profit is small, but the basics of trade were learned from a young age. To get at least some education, one had to ride a bicycle to a neighboring village and attend school. Guzman soon abandoned her, never having received a certificate (which, again, did not prevent him from earning both power and millions), and completely focused on working with his father, who needed an assistant.
For the first time he learned about drugs from his father. He was engaged in the cultivation of opium, despite the official ban. At the age of 15, Joaquin, having a big fight with his parents, moved to live with his grandfather, from where his journey to adulthood began a couple of years later.
Own among his own
Admittedly, in the 70s, everyone who was not lazy was involved in drugs for Mexico. More and more drug lords appeared, drug cartels developed. The endless war of rivals did not stop for a minute, taking the lives of hundreds of people - everyone wanted to get rid of competitors and expand the sphere of their dominance. At this time, Guzman (his full name is Joaquin Guzman Loera) is taken by his grandfather as his assistant and gives the first instructions: he himself worked as a drug carrier and contributed to the fact that his beloved grandson was taken under the wing of a more influenti althe man that became Hector Salazar, and later Felix Gallardo. Both of these men were the most notorious drug lords running their own cartels. Being in their environment, and eventually gaining confidence, could cost a life. But the devoted Joaquin had nothing to fear.
The great and terrible
Needless to say, having felt the excitement and taste of the first earned money, he did not dream of another life. Joaquin Guzman Loera (whose photo you can find in this article) immediately became the favorite of his owners. He took the tasks seriously: he personally checked and sold the goods, followed the accounting, and simply killed objectionable suppliers. He did not like both competitors and those who “ran over” to obey other drug lords. Joaquin valued loy alty - as much as being loyal to those who gave him a start in life, so he wanted the same from his employees.
In the 80s, Felix Gallardo took him as his personal driver. Serious and responsible work. And Guzman did a great job with it. He also kept personal growth in mind, dreaming of creating his own empire in the future, and soon became a confidant of Gallardo - he entrusted him with an entire sector, which meant that from that moment Joaquin completely controlled the marketing of products through Colombia.
Political change for good
America tried to exercise control over the Florida and Caribbean corridors, but drugs, as before, calmly passed on to the side. Despite being perfectwell-established mechanism, in the late 80s the police detained a number of major drug lords, including Gallardo. But this by no means stopped the flow of drug trafficking, but only divided into sections all the subject territories, part of which Guzman took over.
Now he was known everywhere. For his small stature, he received the nickname "Shorty" and henceforth bore the name Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. In a short period, he significantly strengthened his financial condition. But things didn't always go well. After tightening control, the police detained Guzmán and handed him over to Mexico in 1993, where he received twenty years in prison. But is this a hindrance for such an influential and smart swindler? Having bribed the prison staff, Guzman was released in a basket with dirty laundry. But not immediately, but after serving the first eight years. All this time, he did not stop managing affairs through attorneys who came to him in prison as visitors. He rethought his own achievements and made a promise to himself that he would do everything possible to become more powerful. Once, during interrogation, he admitted that those eight years were just a little rest and enough time to come up with a new plan to strengthen his position.
Returning to business, Guzmán felt even stronger his importance among subordinates and competitors.
“Game with special services” continues
In 2014, Joaquin was arrested again, but he escaped again, this time through an underground tunnel. He rejoiced that he managed to escape justice, and the next goal was the desire to imprint his name on the pages of history. Write a memoir? Shoot a movie? Why not?! Guzman always dreamed of this. Joaquin, besotted with vanity, struck up a correspondence with the Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, with whom he was in love, and later Sean Penn interviewed him under the pretext of making a documentary film about Guzman. It later turned out that the Hollywood stars were initially in cahoots with the FBI, which helped in his arrest.
After the high-profile detention of Joaquin, shown on television, they, the stars, feared for their lives. According to press reports, Penn managed to "negotiate" with Guzman. The drug lord also remained on good terms with Castillo, and the main reason for this is his passion for her, although the actress at one time did not make any promises.
In 2017, the series “El Chapo” was released, telling the story of Joaquin. What is true in it, and what is mostly fiction, one can only guess.
Love adventures
Guzman's biography is full of stories about his love affairs. Being a powerful and freedom-loving man, he could take any woman he liked as his wife. The last wife of Joaquin Guzman, Emma Aispuro, turned out to be a simple village girl, whom he literally bought during a national beauty contest. She bore him two sons. From two previous wives, with whom he parted on friendly terms, he also has children.
Joaquin's main mistress is Zulema Hernandez, who previously worked in the police. A drug convict, she met him in prison during his first incarceration. He had a warm relationship with her - such that he transferred part of his business to her. In addition, Guzmán did not hesitate to use the services of representatives of the ancient profession - according to rumors, they visited him every day during his imprisonment.
Rich legacy
Today “Shorty” is in the same prison he escaped from earlier. But he is not the only one of interest. The children of Joaquin Guzman are under the scrutiny of the security services. The Mexican drug business is also following the fate of Guzman with interest, because no one knows what the future holds for him and the future of the legacy that he left. The drug lords' wars for independence continue today. According to average estimates, about 50 thousand representatives of the criminal business have died to date.
As for his family and children, it is known that they continue to live in Mexico and do not need anything. According to preliminary calculations, the state of the drug lord is estimated at one billion dollars. Ivan, the son of Joaquín Guzmán, often “pleases” the public with posts on his social network page – luxury yachts, wads of money in a bag, half-naked girls replacing one another, and weapons in their hands as a reminder that the war is not lost yet.
