This July 10, 1993 file photo shows Mexican Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka El Chapo, at La Palma prison in Almoloya of Juarez, Mexico. Guzman, the world most wanted drug trafficker, ten years after his evasion from a high security prison has been able to take control of the most powerful drug organization in Mexico and is considered as one of the richest men in the world. (File Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Reporting Chris Martinez
(CBS) — He’s a billionaire drug lord and Chicago’s newly crowned Public Enemy No. 1. But there are conflicting reports about whether Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is dead or alive.
The mystery centers around a rumored gun battle in Guatemala and whether the man who law enforcement says is the largest supplier of drugs to Chicago has survived.
CBS 2’s Chris Martinez reports.
Art Bilek, head of the Chicago Crime Commission, believes the rumors of Guzman’s demise are just that.
“There’s no report they’ve found bodies, there’s no report they’ve found shell casings, there’s just no report at all,” he says.
But some reports indicated the drug kingpin was killed. Witnesses claim they saw a body that looked like Guzman.
“Two years ago, he died, too, and that turned out to be erroneous,” Bilek says.
Guzman has eluded capture for more than a decade. His cartel is now among the world’s biggest suppliers. His drugs have been traced to countless Chicago dealers and crimes.
Guatemalan officials say they’ve checked the area where this rumored gun battle took place and have yet to find evidence that Guzman is dead or that a shootout ever happened.
