Cartel leader’s high-tech gadgets, counterspy tactics helped him evade capture for 13 years

WASHINGTON – The Associated Press has learned that Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel leader employed high-tech communications gadgetry and sophisticated counterespionage practices to elude an international manhunt for 13 years.

But in the end, life on the run unraveled for Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in a decidedly low-tech way.

A traditional wiretap in southern Arizona pointed authorities to a cellphone being used by a top associate. Within a day, Guzman was captured in a high-rise beachfront condominium in Mazatlan, Mexico.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of Guzman’s efforts to stay ahead of the law tells the AP that the drug kingpin spared no expense when it came to protecting himself. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the situation by name.