EP 6: The Hunt

December 4, 2018·23 min·1 clip

El Chapo escaped capture by running naked for three miles through sewage tunnels.

Episode 6 follows DEA agent Drew Hogan's relentless pursuit of El Chapo Guzman from 2006 to 2014. After Chapo's 2001 prison escape, he spent 13 years evading capture while running the Sinaloa cartel. Hogan, a rookie DEA agent in San Diego, became obsessed with capturing the elusive drug lord and began working his way up the cartel hierarchy. Hogan and his partner Diego posed as money launderers, moving millions in cartel cash and gaining the trust of Chapo's organization. Their first pickup involved $109,000 delivered in a laundry detergent bucket at a Home Depot parking lot. Through this operation, they flipped a key member of Chapo's inner circle and obtained his personal phone number. In 2011, they traced the phone to a mansion near Cabo San Lucas, but Chapo escaped during the raid. The near-miss revealed that Chapo was more vulnerable than expected, traveling with minimal security and relying on elaborate tunnel systems for escape. All of his safe houses featured tunnels under bathtubs that connected to city sewer systems, complete with emergency supplies including bags of underwear. After tracking Chapo to Culiacán, Mexican Marines raided his safe house on February 17, 2014, but he escaped naked through the tunnels. Hogan's team set up operations in Chapo's abandoned house, discovering his simple lifestyle despite his billionaire status. Three days later, they tracked him to a beachfront hotel in Mazatlan. On February 20, 2014, Hogan led the raid that finally captured Chapo in the hotel's parking garage. Wearing Chapo's own stolen baseball cap, Hogan confronted the drug lord with the words 'What's up, Chapo?' The capture made international headlines and was celebrated as a major victory. However, just over a year later, Chapo escaped again through an elaborate tunnel system from his maximum security prison cell. During his brief imprisonment, Chapo had contacted Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, who later arranged a secret meeting with Sean Penn in October 2015. The Hollywood connection created a media frenzy and controversy over journalistic ethics. Chapo was recaptured in January 2016 after another dramatic shootout and car chase. The Sean Penn interview, published in Rolling Stone, may have inadvertently aided in his recapture through intercepted communications.

As heard by us

A tunnel escape turns into a close, procedural manhunt.

Episode 6, The Hunt, keeps its focus on the physical work of the manhunt. The tunnel details carry a lot of the weight here: the low ceiling, sewage water, the bathtub propped at an angle, and the white plastic grocery bag full of Tidy Whities.

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Why you'd press play

You want the escape route, the hunt, and the strangest detail in the tunnel.

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