DETAILS REVEALED ON THE 2016 CAPTURE OF EL CHAPO GUZMAN IN SINALOA

On January 8, 2016, forces from the Secretaría de Marina and the former Policía Federal executed a joint operation in Los Mochis, Ahome municipality, Sinaloa, resulting in the recapture of Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, alongside his security chief, Orso Iván Gastélum Cruz.

The confrontation began at a safehouse in the Las Palmas neighborhood. During the initial breach, five individuals were killed and one naval officer was wounded. Guzmán Loera and Gastélum Cruz escaped through a subterranean passage connected to the municipal storm drainage network. After exiting through a manhole, the individuals seized vehicles on the highway to flee the immediate perimeter.

Agents from the Policía Federal intercepted the red Ford Focus carrying the suspects on the Los Mochis-Navojoa highway (Mexico Route 15). Due to concerns regarding potential armed intervention by cartel units, the intercepting officers relocated the detainees to room 51 of the Hotel & Suites Doux, situated at kilometer 3 of the Los Mochis-San Miguel International Highway, to establish a temporary defensive perimeter while awaiting support.

According to testimonial accounts featured in the documentary series Operación Cisne Negro, released in October 2026, an officer stationed on the roof of the establishment ordered a patrol vehicle attempting to exit the premises with the detainee to halt, aiming his service weapon toward the unit to enforce perimeter integrity until military units secured the location.

The primary objective during the containment phase at the motel was to maintain operational control until heavy reinforcements from the Secretaría de Marina and the Army arrived at kilometer 3.

Following the arrival of military units, the detainees were transferred to official custody. Guzmán Loera was subsequently extradited to the United States in 2017, where he received a sentence of life imprisonment plus 30 years in 2019. Gastélum Cruz was also extradited to face federal drug trafficking charges. The participating police personnel were placed under protective protocols and reassigned to international assignments following the operation.