“Shorty” stands at 5’6”, but he’s not been short on drug-smuggling and murder, earning for himself the dubious distinction from our US Treasury Department, the “most powerful drug trafficker in the world.” He has built a $3 billion a year business, while boasting the execution of between 2-3,000 people. One loses count after his first 500.
Evidently, crime does pay! until authorities catch up with you. “Shorty,” which is English for “El Chapo,” was arrested on June 9, 1993 in Guatemala and extradited to Mexico. Subsequently, he was sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security prison. However, on Jan. 19, 2001, he escaped from Puente Grande Prison. So much for maximum security. All it took was a laundry cart and a bribe of $2.5 million. Now he was free again to lead his Sinaloa Cartel. In 2009, Forbes Magazine listed him in the elite billionaire’s club.
On Feb. 22, 2014, he was apprehended once again, this time at a beach resort in Mazatlan, Mexico. Just one year later, on July 11, 2015, with video capturing it all, El Chapo went into his shower stall and crawled through a hole and into a one mile long tunnel where a motorcycle-on-rails chauffeured him to freedom – again.
This time, El Chapo’s liberty would not last near as long. On Jan. 8, 2016, Shorty was recaptured by Mexican authorities in Los Machis. A year later, on Jan. 17th, he was extradited to the U.S. to face federal charges; whereat he pled, “Not Guilty.” Of course he did; but despite his plea, on Feb. 12th of this year, he was convicted on 10 counts. Then just 11 days ago, Joaquin Guzman was sentenced to Life in Prison without the possibly of parole (and hopefully, without the possibility of escape) and fined $12.6 billion in forfeiture.
El Chapo learned something on the earthly level that doesn’t always ring true, for some do get away with murder. He did not. But on the Heavenly level, no one can outrun God. Why not come out this Sunday morning as we hear a message entitled, “No Escaping God’s Law?”