Mexican authorities may be closing in on escaped drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, but they still haven't announced his capture.
The Mexican military is carrying out operations across the two northern states of Sinaloa and Durango, Sinaloa Governor Mario López Valdez confirmed in a press conference on Wednesday. Some 260 people have been forced from their homes due to the operations, Spanish newswire EFE reports.
“The military personnel working in the area were sent by Mexico City,” López Valdez said, according to EFE. “You all know who they’re after. At the moment, we haven’t seen any results.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reportedly intercepted Guzmán's cell phone calls and tipped off Mexican authorities to the kingpin’s location, according to NBC and CBS. The outlets cited unnamed U.S. law enforcement sources.
The Huffington Post could not independently confirm those reports, and a spokeswoman for the Mexican armed forces declined to comment.
A spokesman for the DEA said he could not comment on specifics about the operation, but said the agency continues to cooperate with Mexico’s efforts to catch Guzmán. “We’ve seen these published reports as well, but can’t comment on any specific claims,” he wrote in an email. "However, capturing Guzman remains a high priority for the DEA and so we continue to work with our Mexican counterparts in an effort to bring him to justice.”
Guzmán escaped from a maximum security cell in Mexico's Altiplano jail on July 11, traveling through a mile-long tunnel. The feat was a major embarrassment for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, who was already struggling with low approval ratings.
Authorities released security footage -- with sound -- from Guzmán's cell for the first time on Wednesday. Loud clanging and the whirring of what sounds like a power tool are audible throughout the video.
View the security footage below.