Mexico began the process of extraditing drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to the United States, after the famed fugitive was recaptured following a dramatic, months-long hunt featuring movie stars, sewer escapes, and bloody shootouts.

The recapture of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman took a surprise, Hollywood twist when a Mexican official said security forces located the whereabouts of the world’s most-wanted trafficker thanks to a secret interview with US actor Sean Penn.

Six people believed to be responsible for the prison break by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, including the elusive Mexican drug lord's brother-in-law and the suspected mastermind of the escape, have been arrested.

The former head of Mexico’s federal prisons and the ex-director of the Altiplano penitentiary that drug capo Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman escaped from are among 13 additional people arrested over the jail break, according to an official.

Top drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman has done what Mexican authorities promised would not happen again after his recapture last year — escaped for a second time from a maximum security prison.

A drug kingpin in Mexico is being named as Chicago’s public enemy No 1 — a label first given to gangster Al Capone and one that hasn’t been used since the 1930s.

The image of the beach resort of Acapulco has taken a new hit from Mexico’s drug violence, with 27 people killed in less than a day, including 14 men whose bodies were found with their heads chopped off at a shopping centre.