When talking about law offenders, terrorists, syndicates, and drug lords, numerous names or groups might come to mind. In Mexico one name resonates clearly, and that is Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera. Guzman is a Mexican drug kingpin who leads the criminal organization Sinaloa Cartel, named for to the Mexican Pacific coast state of Sinaloa. Juaquin Guzman is also popular with the codename "El Chapo Guzman" or "The Shorty Guzman" because of his stature of five feet, six inches(1.68 meters). In 2003 he earned his reputation of being the top Mexican drug lord after the arrest of Osiel Cardenas of the Gulf Cartel, rival of Guzman and considered the world's most influential drug baron by the United States Department of the Treasury.

El Chapo Guzman was the second most powerful individual in Mexico next to Carlos Slim. Guzman was considered the 10th wealthiest man in Mexico in 2011 and held the 1,140th position throughout the globe, having a net worth of about US$1 billion. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believes that he has already surpassed the power and influence of Pablo Escobar, who is considered the godfather of the drug world. The Chicago Crime Commission called Guzman public enemy number one in 2013 for the impact of his criminal link in Chicago, although there was no proof that Guzman went in that city. Al Capone was the last person to obtain such notoriety, in 1930.

Guzman was seized in Guatemala in 1993, extradited, and punished with 20 years' imprisonment in Mexico for assassination and drug trading. He was able to break free from a federal maximum-security prison in 2001 after inducing the prison guards. Because of this he became wanted by the United States, the government of Mexico, and INTERPOL. There was a US$5 million prize granted by the US for any information that could lead to his capture. On the other hand, the Mexican government provided a 60 million pesos reward, or about US$3.8 million, for details on the whereabouts of Guzman.