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Search for ‘El Chapo’ includes efforts in the United States, source says

Posted at 8:11 PM, Oct 22, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-22 22:12:46-04
By Brian Todd

CNN

(CNN) — The search for Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman now includes efforts in the United States, a Mexican official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN on Thursday.

Authorities are also looking for Guzman’s wife, Emma Coronel, who they believe could be with her husband, the source said. The couple has property in the Los Angeles area.

The source said authorities are not looking to arrest or detain Coronel, who is a U.S. citizen and gave birth to the couple’s twin daughters in 2011. They just want to see where she is.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration declined to comment on what the anonymous official said.

The source spoke one day after Mexican authorities said that they have detained Guzman’s brother-in-law and several others suspected of organizing the drug lord’s escape from prison.

Guzman broke out of a Mexican maximum-security prison through an underground tunnel in July.

Last week, authorities revealed Guzman had recently escaped again while they were on his trail, injuring himself as he slipped out of sight.

Nicknamed “Shorty” for his height, Guzman had escaped once before from a maximum-security prison, in 2001, reportedly hiding in a laundry cart.

Government officials hailed his capture in 2014 as a sign they were winning the drug war. His July escape sent authorities scrambling and sparked widespread criticism of corruption in Mexico.

CNN’s Dana Ford and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.

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