Original subtitles

The story goes that 20 men

Were sent to build a town.

Here is where a legend was made.

Chapo guzman, in my opinion,

Is the most dangerous criminal in the world,

Second to none.

Joaquin guzman loera, alias chapo guzman,

Is attempting to avoid

The most significant and persistent pursuit ever.

Joaquin guzman, known as "el chapo" or "shorty,"

Had been on the run from the mexican and u.S. Governments

For over 13 years.

Yet, during this time, he had built up

The biggest drugs empire in history.

Along with british filmmaker angus macqueen,

I have been filming the drugs trade for years,

And we have come to distrust everything

We're told about the war on drugs.

We believe the authorities knew exactly where el chapo was

And could get him anytime they wanted.

So in autumn 2012, we set out to prove this

By seeing if two filmmakers could find

The world's most wanted drug trafficker.

We began in chicago, the headquarters

Of el chapo's sinaloa cartel in the u.S.

The authorities have named him public enemy number one...

The same title they gave to al capone over 80 years ago.

This is a man that most americans have never heard of.

But we're using this title,

Which we first gave to al capone in 1930.

And this was the second time

We've ever felt necessary to use it

Because of the viciousness, and because of the evil,

And because of the power of this man.

In chicago alone, over 90% of the marijuana,

Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine,

And other synthetic drugs that are being sold

On the streets while we're standing here

Have come from the sinaloa cartel.

El chapo ran the cartel like a terrorist group.

He had a whole range of distributors in chicago

Operating as independent cells.

So using old contacts, we found a family

That has been bringing drugs from mexico for decades.

And just like in the movies,

Our man turned up in a private jet.

When you have a chance, turn, uh, right.

Coming up.

It's all about family.

You know, we're still cowboys.

We take care of our own.

So, basically, we all work for the same guy.

Most of us do.

How has he managed to build up so much power?

Ask him that.

I don't know.

He's just smart.

Smart little fucker.

I don't know how he does it, but he does it well.

I'm just, um, logistics, man, logistics.

I think it through and find a way.

Pick up keys, go drop it off, go through...

You know, take care of it.

Easy access for loads to come in and just be dismantled,

Trucks... truckloads, you know, every day.

And it comes... the price comes from down there.

We don't set the price here.

It comes from down there, depending on what...

How much they want, in what bulk.

Could be in the hundreds, it could be in the tons,

You know, depending.

The price changes.

But it's set from down there.

That's it, it's just like working

For a company or organization, a corporation.

It's the same thing, you know?

You're subcontracted to perform a job, and that's it.

No questions asked.

It's just like that.

It takes a look in the eye and a handshake.

You never know who you work for.

Maybe he doesn't even exist.

It's just a myth.

Can't find them, right?

The best police in the world can't find him.

Well, there you go.

Go through this.

Don't worry, take your time.

I think that sorted it.

We shoot a lot of, uh...

You've hit most of the marks.

I could hit this one, just...

Let me get out of that.

Getting into the sinaloa cartel, i never knew

What i was gonna get into.

The expanse and the tentacles,

It's a massive octopus just floating around the world

To the large hub area of chicago,

And then, you know, up into canada, near montreal,

And then transiting, you know, via cargo container

To hong kong and to the australian market.

The australian market, you know,

Up to $200,000 a kilogram of cocaine.

So it's just, you know... if you had a kilo

That it might cost 18,000 in l.A.,

But it makes it to australia, look at the profit margin.

It's just unbelievable.

The power structures are constantly changing,

But what doesn't change is chapo guzman

At the helm of this corporate empire.

You know, somebody sitting in lebanon

May not necessarily know the person that's in belize

That's talking to the person in sinaloa,

But they're all complicit in the same conspiracy.

And this is a major arrest down in mexico city,

Where there was $200-Plus million seized.

But that was the wake-Up call.

$200 million.

Yes, a massive stack

Inside one condominium in mexico city,

Just in the walls, and the closets, and...

Just unbelievable staggering amount of u.S. Currency...

All from the sale of chemicals

For the production of methamphetamine.

It's a corporate operation.

It's no different than a home depot or a walmart,

With a ceo, and directors, and financial staff.

But these are corporate infrastructures

Making millions on behalf of chapo guzman.

And you don't end up in "forbes" magazine

By not being, you know, a smart entrepreneur.

look at the don and watch him row, row, row

straight down the freeway, down to old mexico

cocaine shipments running to and fro

the police are weary 'cause they're losing control

yeah red, white, and green

sells in red, white, and blue

We decided to follow the money

Back to mexico and el chapo.

So we set off for the border

To find the only man we knew had actually met him.

the dea are looking for a man

made of flesh and bone, yeah

ain't been so hot

in this old town since

al capone

these are chapo's towns

these are chapo's towns

these are chapo's towns

where is he now?

Two more.

We first met el flaco four years ago.

He's still breaking the cardinal rule of smuggling...

Don't use your own product.

For 20 years, he's been shipping kilos of drugs into the u.S.

Under the protection of the man they call "el se�or."

El flaco parades out of these violent backstreets

Less than a mile from the border with california.

I have witnessed some of the thousands of killings here,

Victims of the battle to control

The most lucrative smuggling routes in the world.

A u.S. Agent once told us

That he's waiting for tijuana to cave in

From all the tunnels el chapo has running underneath.

El flaco has come to trust us.

He agreed to let his friends in the cartel know

That we were looking for el chapo.

We ended up locked in a garage

With a car and lots of methamphetamine.

there are plenty of ways to carry

what you want across the border

submarines go underwater

planes will carry you through the air

the best technique of all

are not the catapults to texas

or the freight trains to chicago

but the tunnels everywhere

you can smuggle on the road

jalapeno tends to move it

you can smuggle through the air

some persimmons 30 tons

you can smuggle through the sea

and we've got submarines to prove it

but the tunnels underground

that's the genius of guzman

As you can see, the tunnel has lighting,

And it does have good airflow,

Indicating that there's some type of ventilation system

Forcing air in from mexico.

you can smuggle on the road

jalapeno tends to move it

you can smuggle through the air

some persimmons 30 tons

you can smuggle through the sea

we've got submarines to prove it

but the tunnels underground

that's the genius of guzman

In mexico, el chapo's name provoked fear and admiration.

Few who had met him dared to speak even about his past,

But the first man to have him in handcuffs

Was relaxed enough to invite us home.

Cardinal posadas was murdered at guadalajara airport in 1993.

It is rumored he had information

On the government's involvement with the drug cartels.

El chapo was at the airport that day,

But always denied having anything to do with the murder.

El chapo was paraded for the press.

This was the only known footage of him.

While he was inside, many of his rivals were killed,

Leaving the road clear for him

To rise to the top from behind bars.

Three journalists i have worked with

Are among the 60 that have been

Killed here in the past decade.

Not surprisingly, anabel hernandez

Goes nowhere without a bodyguard.

Gracias.

Anabel has directly accused the authorities

Of being involved in el chapo's rise to power,

From prison officials

To each of the last four presidents of mexico.

Zulema released the text of letters

El chapo had sent her in prison.

Give me the legs.

Have you found her?

What's it say?

It says, uh...

"Nobody dies...

"While kept alive in the heart of somebody.

You will always live in my heart."

Clearly, it has been kept, you know?

Nicely.

You need to pay for that.

Who's paying?

So what exactly happened to her?

She was found in the back of a car,

And, um, her body had been tortured,

And, uh...

To punish el chapo.

Yeah.

El chapo's rivals, the zetas cartel,

Believed the story of the romance

And kidnapped zulema soon after she was released.

Her body was discovered

Mutilated in the trunk of a car.

She had been raped and was left with a "z" for zetas

Carved in her belly and buttocks.

yeah, the 19th of january, 2001

that was the year that el chapo guzman

got away

no one paid attention in the penitentiary

no one saw the cot that carried dirty laundry

open the gates to the hills of sinaloa

yes, the king has returned from a trip with the lord

the last time they saw him was by a gas station

over the hills not far from his nation

he's free

the king of g-Gold and white rocks that glisten

has returned from a stay in a five-Star prison

a million or two, that's the price of freedom

goes to show my station just as long as you feed 'em

oh, the 19th of january, 2001

that was the year that el chapo guzman

got away

the ten years that followed, he'll be down in culiacan

a city of legends that is stooped in tradition

the most dangerous of seas, he's the biggest fish in sight

and anything hustlers need, chapo's there to provide it

Culiacan is home to el chapo's sinaloa cartel,

Supplying drugs to every corner of the world.

Here, you never know who works for whom,

Let alone who killed who and why.

One lesson we have learned over the years...

Trust no one.

Like many journalists and dignitaries,

We were taken on the official tour

To show how seriously the government takes the search

For el chapo and the battle with his cartel.

The government of mexico now

Is earnestly seeking his capture and incarceration.

Chapo guzman is on the run.

He is attempting to avoid what has become

The most significant and persistent pursuit...

Ever.

He is the... he is the subject

Of a manhunt that is without parallel in mexico right now.

One of three fates awaits chapo guzman.

Either he will be captured and brought to justice,

He will die in his attempt to evade that...

Or he will spend the rest of his days

Looking over his shoulder,

Attempting to avoid one of those two fates.

We will not stop.

This is a relentless pursuit,

And with a little luck, he will end up

Incarcerated and in prison for the rest of his life.

The reality is el chapo and the sinaloa cartel

Rule this town with a combination of money and fear.

We have met governors who later have been accused

Of having lunch with el chapo,

Politicians and policemen who turned out to work for him.

He was known to go out for the occasional evening meal.

El chapo lived in culiacan before his arrest in 1993.

Our driver needed serious persuasion

To take us to his old house.

The state seized the property,

But it remains deserted because no one dares to buy it.

It took time to find someone who knew el chapo well.

Adolfo salazar is one of a rare breed,

A cartel boss who has made retirement,

And so was willing to talk openly.

Adolfo said he had no idea where el chapo was now,

But he was confident he could deliver our request to meet him.

While we waited, we wanted to visit the mausoleum

El chapo had built for his son edgar,

But no one would take us there without permission.

Edgar was reported murdered in a supermarket car park

By a rival cartel in 2008.

When permission came, it was the first sign

That el chapo must know that we were looking for him.

Now, if we didn't have permission to go to this town,

We wouldn't be able to hang around the cemetery...

The cemetery or anywhere near there.

We would definitely be picked up by the town people.

And they know we're coming, right?

They certainly do.

The guard made clear

That we were the first outsiders to visit.

And then, we heard a completely different story

Of edgar's killing.

It was, um... a mistake.

Um...

The same people of el chapo

Killed him by mistake in a mall in culiacan.

And i think this mausoleum shows that a little bit...

He must feel a bit guilty for it.

That he killed his only son.

His people.

As we finished filming, we were told

El chapo's ex-Wife, griselda, the boy's mother,

Had not given her permission.

Then, a call came that she had sent armed men

As well as the police to stop us.

We headed straight for the airport.

Come on, tell me, what were we running away from?

I think we are not the only people that speak english here...

And i would like to remind you that we're still in culiacan.

And should we still be frightened?

After we leave, yes.

Clearly, the death of edgar remains

An open wound between el chapo and his ex-Wife.

El flaco was with el chapo

At the time of edgar's killing in 2008.

Publicly, another cartel was blamed

For the murder of edgar.

El chapo turned culiacan into a war zone.

Rival cartels began leaving bodies with messages,

Claiming that el chapo and the government were working together.

It took another trip to culiacan

And secret meetings with senior cartel bosses

Before we could take the next step towards el chapo.

But we were warned it was too dangerous to travel by land

Into the mountains with a gringo.

That is why we were introduced to el chino

And heard the song of his life.

None of the guns or threats of violence

Had scared us half as much

As sitting at the foot of the runway with el chino,

No flight plan, and only a vague idea

Of where we were going.

That night, we slept in the heart of the golden triangle.

Angus was watched like a spy by heavily armed men

Who had only seen gringos on tv.

Our host was the local sinaloa warlord

Who owns the hills and valleys around.

Lunch for el chapo's army,

Some of the most wanted men in mexico,

Was beef, beer, and cocaine.

Our identities were checked

On their high-Speed internet network.

Both of us sensed el chapo really was close by.

They told us the military regularly sends in helicopters,

And we worried about being caught in the crossfire.

They reassured us that they got three hours warning

Before any raids.

These men smuggle cocaine and meth all over the world,

But the heroin and marijuana grown here

Still bring the cartel billions of dollars.

It was strange, flying with the troops over la sierra,

Looking for el chapo and his men

When we now knew what was going on beneath.

We wondered which of these men,

Or their officers, or the generals above them,

Was working for the cartel.

I assure you that chapo guzman is not out

Flitting about in restaurants and living the high life.

In fact, without getting into the details,

We can tell you that he's much closer to the saddam hussein model,

Living in a spider hole and moving from place to place

Because of the fear that he's gonna be captured.

And that's the way it needs to stay until we get him.

How do you know he's doing that?

Not gonna say.

We know, but i can't tell you how we know.

Just as we were preparing to make contact again,

A phone was found during a military raid.

On it was film of el chapo interrogating a man

Tied up with his trousers around his ankles.

Here was the brutal reality of the man we were looking for.

Yet, every day, we worried

That someone might get to him first.

He is one of the most wanted criminals in the world,

Mexican drug lord joaquin guzman,

Also known as el chapo.

Yeah, this guy's been on the loose since escaping

From a maximum security prison back in 2001,

Reportedly by hiding in a laundry cart.

Now, there are reports saying that guzman

May have been killed in a gunfight

In a remote section of guatemala.

Concerned, i rang our contact.

He laughed and invited us to lunch,

Not in culiacan, but in the mountains,

In la tuna, at the guzman home.

No one we knew had ever been here.

Driving without the cartel's permission is suicide.

But with it, even the police just wave us through.

Only one person could have arranged for us

To have lunch with mrs. Guzman.

Two hours later, we were being driven up the mountain

To a place they call heaven

On his direct instructions.

- What happened? - Nothing.

Basically, they said that, um...

Basically, they said that he's not going

To speak with us right now.

He said yes, but not now.

And it feels funny

Because we can certainly feel that he's around here.

And they call him on a mobile phone,

And, um... yeah, so he must be around.

Isn't he just being... politely telling us to go away?

No, because the style of these people is

If they say no, it's "no, thank you very much."

They don't play around like that.

Certainly, it's not in their interest

That we come up here a lot.

We can bring trouble with us.

So, you know, that's what i believe.

So he is somewhere between his birthplace and culiacan, that's what...

Yeah, they said that he spends

Most of his time, around here and culiacan.

That's weird, isn't it?

It's the most obvious place for him to be.

Yeah... possibly the safest.

Over the following months,

We were twice more invited up to la tuna.

Each time, el chapo decided not to go on camera.

For all the disappointment,

We had found him exactly where we had expected him to be.

- Are we ready? - Yes.

So why hadn't the authorities,

Who were offering $5 million for his capture?

El chapo was just around the corner.

It was surreal, standing there,

Watching his security people openly phoning and texting,

Even sending photos.

The u.S. And mexican government

Simply had to know where he was.

But presumably, el chapo was still more useful free

As the world's most wanted drug trafficker.

they call him the savior

savior of the land

always with behavior

he never rose his hand

and they told him to lay low

lay low away

yeah they told him to lay low

lay low away

we are all in the game

we are all in the game

we are all in the game

we are all in the game

cartel de sinaloa

cartel de tijuana

cartel del juarez

familia michoacana

cartel del golfo

zetas sea

estados unidos

para luchar

and he reached out for his gun

and then, it all went wrong

so they fired in return

and the lights, they all went

ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da

ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da

ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da

ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da

ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da

ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da

ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da

ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da

So they picked up el chapo

Before we could convince him to speak.

Why now, we would never know for certain,

But successors are already lined up to take over the business.

The king is dead.

Long live the king.

one way or another

nothing's gonna change

one way or another

your goal's out of range

nixon told us the reasons in '71

we were listening

yet the war rages on in the southern land

nobody came

one way or another

people throw their minds away

down in the mexican mountain

people

will always find a way