MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexican marines recapture drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán

Mexico's marines caught Guzman in an operation at about 4:30 a.m. in the coastal city of Los Mochis in Sinaloa state

Mexican authorities recaptured drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in a bloody raid on Friday. “Mission Accomplished,” President Enrique Peña Nieto announced via Twitter. “We have him” in reference to the recapture of one of the world's most notorious and slippery criminals.

 Members of Mexico's navy caught Guzman in an operation at about 4:30 a.m. in the coastal city of Los Mochis in Sinaloa state, a senior law enforcement official in Mexico reported.

Several people aligned with Guzman died in the raid, the official said. The Mexican navy put the number of dead at five, with six others arrested. No navy personnel were killed, and only one was injured.

Peña Nieto said the recapture of Guzman culminates “days and nights” of collaborative work among Mexican intelligence and police agencies.

“They are a pride to our nation,” he said, referring to the multi-agency operation in an address at the National Palace in Mexico City.

Without specifically mentioning how Guzman had already twice escaped from Mexican prisons, the Mexican President said the recapture of Guzman ought to restore Mexicans' faith in their government and justice system.

Friday's announcement marked the third time that Guzman was captured by Mexican authorities.

“The arrest today is extremely important for the security institutions of the government,” the President said. “Today our institutions have demonstrated one more time that our citizens can trust them, and our institutions are at the level that has the strength and determination to complete any mission that is granted to them.”

Guzman's recapture represents a major success in what has been an embarrassing ordeal for Mexico. For many, “El Chapo” has been a symbol of the Mexican government's ineptitude and corruption.

He has led one of the country's most powerful, violent drug cartels and escaped maximum-security prisons not once, but twice, the latest in July when he busted out through a hole into a mile-long tunnel and then on to freedom.

Last year's breakout spurred major criticism about the Mexican government's ability to safeguard such a notorious criminal, with some saying he should have been held in the United States.

The raid began after a citizen complained about armed people in a home, and when Mexican special forces went to the scene, they were fired upon by alleged members of organized crime, the Mexican navy said.

On Friday, Mexican authorities released a video of a person identified as Guzman, whose head was covered and who was being led by several armed officers from a vehicle to an airplane. Authorities released a video of a white structure where the raid occurred, and the footage showed several weapons.