>> 10 years. five for the undercover and five for the conviction. >> he is in prison right now in this country. do you think about that over? >> it is justice, but i don't take joy in any suffering of any other human being. >> have you forgiven adam? >> i can't say yes or no to that. it's not forgiving because adam deserves to be forgiven. i deserve to have the freedom in my life of not being full of that anger all the time and keep putting my feet towards forgiveness. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. hing. hello. i am andrea canning, and this is dateline. >> it is pitch black.

we locked eyes there just for a split second. he was frightened. he had no idea. i knew that we had him. >> he was untouchable, ruthless, lawless, murderous. >> he was willing to kill whoever he needed to kill. >> the drug lord, l chapel. >> he said no one will ever catch him. >> he and his team did it in the most astonishing way. >> i couldn't believe it. >> the american agent who called capture el chapo comes out of the shadows. exclusive details of this white knuckle manhunt. pictures seen here for the first time. secret drug dens, hidden escape routes. >> is like harry houdini. >> it was beyond imagination.

>> to catch the bad guy, we have to become the bad guy. >> we are inside this real-life thriller. >> it was like living a movie. he was the infamous kingpin who inspired fear among criminals and law enforcement >> hello, and welcome h to dateline. he was the infamous kingpin who inspired fear among criminals and law enforcement on both sides of the border. his name was el chapo . for over a decade, he avoided authorities by disappearing into a secret network of tunnels under his many safe houses. but one man was determined to capture the fugitive and would lead his team to great lengths, even risked his own life to get the job done. here is lester holt with inside the hunt for el chapo . >> he was hiding somewhere in

these forbidding mountains. or in this sprawling city. or in this sun splashed beach resort. somewhere, somewhere in mexico. he was the most wanted drug lord in the world, implicated in hundreds of murders, and finding him became the dangerous mission of this man and a team of u.s. and mexican law enforcement agents. >> i am pretty sure i've never started off an interview with the question i'm about to ask you. but you were chasing some really bad people with really long memories. what are you doing talking to me in front of these cameras? >> originally, i started out under an alias. >> for the first time ever, this former dea agent was coming out of the shadows despite the fears for his life. >> the dangers are real.

i got to watch my back the same way, whether i was under an alias using my real name. >> is a calculated risk? >> i'm always calculating it in my head. it was time to step up and be proud of what i had done, what my teammates had done. >> his name is drew hogan, and facing incredible odds, he and the team put their lives on the line to stop an elusive prey. we go inside his hunt as he pursues l chapel from safe house to safe house and finally comes face-to-face. >> it is not just a story about one man. it is larger than that. it is two countries coming together and accomplishing something that everyone thought was impossible. >> he recounts that journey in his book, hunting el chapo . in the book, for security reasons, he changed the names of some people and places. we blurred the faces of others

who are still working in the field, because for all of them, danger lurked around every curve in the road. >> you are always going to have that in the back of your mind, but it is what you do with that fear. >> what he did was obsess over el chapo's whereabouts. >> it was nonstop. i would dream about it. it totally consumed my life. >> drew hogan's international odyssey started far from mexico's narco killing fields. a small town in the midwest where he played high school football and dreamt of going into law enforcement. >> your first shot at carrying a badge was the local sheriff deputy, right? >> one day i was with a buddy of mine, a former police officer, and he said, why don't we just going to chicago and test with the dea? >> the united states drug enforcement administration. he joined in 2007 at age 25. his new job brought into a

border city in the southwestern united states. his first order of business was to learn about the mexican narco culture. which included songs like a ballad about el chapo . his mentor was never connor agent drew calls in the book diego. >> i started to understand really what was behind these songs. it really connected the dots for me. kind of a who's who in that world. >> he's like a modern-day outlaw. >> absolutely. and he was at the very top. >> el chapo . real name, joaquin guzman. the city of chicago named him public enemy number one for his role in bringing in tons of drugs that were sold on the streets of the u.s. drew's co-author, doug century. >> is a very ruthless and murderous guy. let's not sugarcoat that.

he rose to power, though, on his ability to deliver huge amounts of cocaine. and he was the guy who could deliver. he invented the narco tunnel. >> the narco tunnel. the new ubiquitous tunnels buried underneath the u.s./mexico border used to smuggle vast quantities of drugs into the u.s. his rise from abject poverty to running one of the most powerful drug syndicates on the planet, which had thousands of members that spanned the globe, made el chapo a folk hero and mexican culture. >> he was a little boy who sold oranges on the street and then rises from absolute nothingness. he is completely illiterate, to being a billionaire. that is extremely captivating as a mythology for poor working people in a very impoverished country. >> he started in the drug trade in the 1970s and was arrest and in 1993. el chapo was able to run his

cartel vermeil high-security mexican prison for 8 years. then in 2001, his legend grew when he escaped, hidden in a laundry cart. >> the way he escaped was like -- like a movie. >> telemundo has covered mexico's drug wars and el chapo for years . >> he being able to embarrass authorities, i think that is what made him -- i mean, it is pure gold. >> el chapo is the master of bribery. he spent millions of dollars a year secretly doling out cash to every branch of the mexican government so officials would turn a blind eye from his criminal enterprise. >> with el chapo, the truth of the matter is that 200,000 people died from these drugs, more than 20,000 people disappeared. >> el chapo remain free for years and seemed untouchable

by the time drew hogan joined the dea. >> there have been so many failed attempts throughout the years, and he would escape out the back door. >> he was wired into law enforcement? >> absolutely. at every level. >> but agents never gave up on capturing el chapo. a 30 year veteran of the dea, derek walls ran the special operations division and oversaw the efforts to bring the drug lord to justice. >> even though they were unsuccessful in the sense of capturing him, they were very successful in developing intelligence, the knowledge of how these cartels were operating. >> drew hogan and diego first joined the hunt with a daring move -- by infiltrating the sinaloa cartel. >> when did he get on your radar in a way, where, i think -- it might've been 2010 or 2011

, were diego and i started moving sinaloa cartel money. >> he and diego worked as part of a task force. diego was a local detective, not a federal agent like drew. these are photos taken during their operations. diego passed himself off as a big-time operator as drew coordinated behind the scenes by doing this. they were risking their lives. >> you guys were playing the role of money launderers. >> diego was in his undercover role, posing as a director of operations of a covert criminal network that had access to airplanes and trucks and yachts. we could move millions of dollars at a time and qualities of drugs that any point. that was our sales pitch. >> that was the pitch, and they were successful. for instance, see those fedex boxes? they contained nearly $1.2 million destined for el chapo's operations.

drew and diego were getting inside the belly of the beast. >> coming up. >> we actually reading the text? >> every single one. >> drew hogan moves closer to el chapo as his family moves deeper into danger. >> i wanted to get out of everything while we got ourselves into. >> when dateline continues. for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. introducing new advil targeted relief. the only topical pain reliever with 4 powerful pain-fighting ingredients that start working on contact

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check your cost and coverage before talking to your health care professional about wegovy®. (♪♪) (♪♪) voltaren... for long lasting arthritis pain relief. (♪♪) i'm out here telling people how they can save money with experian. you got subscriptions? yeah, netflix. hulu. the free trial forgot to cancel it, that whole thing? that's actually me. what if i told you that experian has subscription cancellation, where you can just cancel them with a click of a button? boom. it's that easy to cancel. that's actually really cool. it's great. with subscription cancellation, people save on average $270 a year. say less. i'm thinking girl math, you can buy a pair of shoes with that. that's a lot of money. i actually need that. get started now with the experian app. i alester holt: byat. 2011, dea agent

drew hogan was part of the hunt for drug kingpin el chapo. drew and his task force partner diego >> by 2011, dea agent drew hogan was part of the hunt for drug kingpin el chapo . drew and his task force partner, diego, infiltrated el chapo's sinaloa cartel . these are photos of their undercover operations. they acted as money launderers, and each step of the way, is a move cash, they found a new target to exploit, leaving them closer to the top. >> as diego and i landed in a new location, we were immediately hitting the streets. we would go out that night into the different bars and hotels and clubs. >> try not to look like agents. >> exactly. >> they were playing a very dangerous game, andrew was becoming obsessed. obsessed with tracking down el chapo . drew felt he went as

far as he could in the u.s. he needed to immerse himself south of the border. he made a decision to move to mexico city with his young family. >> i talked with my wife extensively. she knew everything we were getting ourselves into, and she told me, what is your gut telling you? and i said, to go. to go. let's do it. >> leaving diego back in the states, drew and his family arrived in mexico's city in may of 2012. he and the team were now stocking one of the most powerful criminals in the world on el chapo's own turf. >> it's just like, who is watching me? it could be anybody from el chapo's people to the local cartel around mexico city to -- the street thugs, or even the mexican government. >> he worked in a cluttered cubicle in the u.s. embassy in mexico's city. during long days

and nights, he barely saw his family. drew's attention was focused on the mountain range far to the west. the sierra madre. it is known as mexico's lawless land, el chapo's home base. the mexican state of sinaloa comprises part of it. the biggest city there is the reputed narco capital of mexico, and el chapo essentially owned the town. >> in the heyday of prohibition, when al capone completely owns chicago, or somebody to come in and try to throw handcuffs on capone. they would get shot. >> it was a place where kingpins who died in mexico's drug wars were placed in large ornate tombs. they seem to stand as reminders of the violence and danger that engulfed them. >> those areas are completely controlled by drug cartels.

>> but drew was relentless. for instance, just before he arrived in mexico, he came upon a treasure trove of evidence. el chapo had left his safe haven for this mansion in cabo san lucas. it was rated i mexican law enforcement. el chapo got away , but there were key scraps of paper, notebooks, and phones left behind with phone numbers that drew could target. >> you can't just target the man himself. you have to target his entire infrastructure. that means his pilots, his facilitators, his careers, his wives, his girlfriends, his sons . down to his maid and his cook. that began with his two most trusted pilots. >> pilots who would swoop el chapo in and out of his hideouts under cover of darkness . it was a big discovery. drew learned an agent from homeland security investigations back in the

states who he calls brady had also uncovered the pilots numbers. >> he came back and said, oh, my god, this could be a gold mine. and we just began filing intelligence back and forth. in the states and in mexico. >> drew knew that el chapo usually didn't carry a phone himself, but was always with an underling who did. so they thought they could track the phone of el chapo's closest associates, they would find el chapo himself . but making things more difficult was el chapo's people kept changing what are called burner phones -- disposable phones used a short time and then tossed away. >> to to go back to square one every time they toss them? >> if they drop their phones all at the same time, yes. there's hundreds of people in this organization and they are not all dropping their phones of the same time. >> i toss my phone now, she

tosses later. it was their weakness. it's not registered in anyone's name. how were you able to identify where these communications were coming from? >> to the names that they were using. they were very open in their communications. >> it was a big mistake by el chapo's operation. drew and the team could not track them, and the cartel operatives had no idea. >> they didn't think those communications could be intercepted by u.s. law enforcement. >> were you actually reading the text? >> every single one of them. >> could you tell where they were coming from and if you were seeing communications directly from el chapo? >> yes. it took us a while to interest- rate the structure that we had set up. >> a mirror structure. a ladder of phones belonging to el chapo's underlings , climbing to the top from third tier -- maybe a runner -- to second-tier, perhaps a driver, and so on.

>> you essentially cracked the code. >> it was a high point in the search. after years of hunting, el chapo was in their site at last. >> coming up. >> somebody was corrupt. >> drew hogan smells a rat and makes a move. >> we had to move into enemy territory. >> a bold strike with deadly stakes. >> the city is lighting up. it's on fire. something is not right. >> when dateline continues. ne

the moment i met him i knew he was my soulmate. "soulmates." soulmate! [giggles] why do you need me? [laughs sarcastically] but then we switched to t-mobile 5g home internet. and now his attention is spent elsewhere. but i'm thinking of her the whole time. that's so much worse. why is that thing in bed with you? this is where it gets the best signal from the cell tower! i've tried everywhere else in the house! there's always a new excuse. well if we got xfinity you wouldn't have to mess around with the connection. therapy's tough, huh? -mmm. it's like a lot about me. [laughs] a home router should never be a home wrecker. oo this is a good book title.

lester holt: this is culiacán, mexico, the base of operations for the sinaloa cartel and, in 2013, >> this is mexico, the base of operations for the sinaloa cartel, and in 2013, fortress for the world's most dangerous drug lord -- el chapo. by tracing the burner phones, used by el chapo's underlings, the dea's drew hogan was zeroing in on his target. >> all that mattered throughout this entire time was his location. where was he at? that was the only question i wanted answered. >> as you realized you were building this latter potentially the el chapo, what was that like ? and you are reading the messages. >> piecing together the day-to- day structure of his day-to-day operations.

>> that must've been an eye- opener. >> it was like a novel you couldn't put down. >> it doesn't sound a place like mexican authorities can easily infiltrate. this was a stronghold for sinaloa. so you have the information, but what can you do in that moment? >> once i knew he was there, i had to find another location. he was going to be far too dangerous to go in and root him out. we thought it would be an absolute bloodbath. >> then, a break. christmas eve, 2013. obsessed with his mission, drew hogan once against dr. feist time with his family to continue the hunt. he worked with brady, his colleague from homeland security investigations back in the state. together, they tracked phones of l chapel's closest assistance, knowing they would most likely be with him and plotting locations on google maps. >> we have seen him come down out to a remote location, and

we were trying to pinpoint it. after hours of searching, and after hours of searching, we found it. >> el chapo was camped out at a place known for duck hunting. >> he would come down, me with his most trusted lieutenants for his sons just for a few hours, and that he would head back to the city. once we had the location, i nicknamed it duck dynasty. >> drew now new he was traveling outside of his fortress city of culiacan. this was the best shot they may ever have. he and his partners pushed their superiors, and a decision was made. they would grab el chapo at duck dynasty. >> now you got him in your site . i'm assuming this is not an

operation you can pull off by yourselves. >> no. we cannot do anything as united government without the host nation. from the beginning, i didn't know who we would be able to trust with this. i hadn't shared anything with the mexican government. and the only unit that i could do that with that i have some level of trust in was the mexican marines. >> they are the elite. >> they are the elite. >> the mexican marines had a sterling reputation for integrity and the ability to keep a secret. but this time, something went wrong. >> as soon as we met, i provided his location. i provided this duck dynasty location to them. with the second they moved resources up to sinaloa, he knew instantly. >> you saw that in your intercepts? >> yes. >> how did you feel?

>> devastated. it was an eerie feeling. >> the team had been betrayed, but nobody knew who did it or why. >> was plan b to refocus on culiacan? >> that heat in around duck dynasty deterred him from staying. he spent 90% of his time there in culiacan, and he wasn't coming out. >> that's the last place you want to have to go to get it. >> right. >> brady had flown to mexico to join drew in person. the clock was ticking. because of the lead, el chapo now knew something big was about to go down. the team had no choice. >> we had to make a move, and that move was to go into enemy territory and root him out. >> the task force leaders approved a bold action -- to do what they didn't want to do, and strike it el chapo in his fortress city, culiacan.

>> he went in with the mexican marines. once again, he had to trust them. >> drew was recording on his cell phone as the operation began. >> this particular operation in february of 2014 was the first time that the mexican marines had ever done an operation on the ground in this area because of the danger and the compromises and the risks involved. >> laser focused on their mission, drew and brady and the team had narrowed down el chapo's location to a one block radius. but they needed to find the right house, and a specific door to get at him. >> we sent our teams down there to do that, and they spent 24 hours in that city alone trying to pinpoint that door. >> drew and the rest of the

team waited in a nearby military base for the call to come in that el chapo's location had been pinpointed. in the meantime, culiacan was abuzz . fear hung in the air. rumors and text messages were flying among the people who live there. >> the city is lighting up. it is on fire. the lookouts all throughout the city were alerting everyone that something is not right. that there are people in the neighborhood that don't belong. >> they were right. the mexican marines were about to pounce. >> coming up. inside el chapo's layer . >> you slept in one of his beds? >> yes. we ate food out of his refrigerator. >> a jaw-dropping stash, a ton of under the tongue. >> we are so close. i can taste it. >> when dateline continues. ctiy shields the enamel

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>> a news update. two people are dead from a listeria update linked to sliced deli meats in new jersey and illinois. 20 people were affected across 12 states since may. the cdc recommends avoiding means that a been sliced deli deli counter. and new york's governor requested a federal emergency declaration in response to an unprecedented number of tornadoes in the state. new york has seen 17 tornadoes this month, which is more than oklahoma, kansas, alabama, mississippi, and iowa combined. for now, back to dateline. dat. dea agent drew hogan had spent years >> welcome back to dateline. i am andrea canning. dea agent drew hogan had spent years on the hunt for el chapo, known as the world's most dangerous drug lord. he and his colleagues had narrowed the search to a one

block radius in culiacan, mexico, 18 deep inside enemy territory. now, a team of mexican agents and u.s. marines was on the ground, determined to strike before he could escape again. back to lester holt with inside the hunt for el chapo. >> february 16, 2014. as drew was waiting at a military base 150 miles away, members of the mexican u.s. team had entered the hornets nest of culiacan in search of narco kingpin el chapo . they had been on the ground, exposed for 24 hours, and still hadn't located the exact safe house el chapo was holed up in. >> i got a call from the ground team, and they said, look -- this isn't working. everyone is tired and hungry, we are exhausted. >> time is running out. >> we have one option left. the most trusted courier.

go find him. >> they did, and sure enough, he flipped on his boss and agreed to lead them to el chapo's five safe houses. a squad of more than 50 mexican marines and u.s. agents swarmed the area. drew and brady flew in from the base with another contingent of mexican marines. drew caught much of the operation on his phone. >> perfect. done. he is done. >> what followed was a tense cat and mouse game as the mexican marie's and stash pads are out culiacan in search of their prize. >> the first message that comes in from my guy says, cameras everywhere. the place is a fortress. >> drew understood that when he and brady arrived at one of the safe houses. >> i see the steel reinforced door. it's about six inches thick. it took the marines probably 10

to 15 minutes to get through that door. >> these images inside the safe houses revealed details about el chapo's drug operation and his life underground, like the steak green bananas that the cartel filled with cocaine and smuggled across the border. they also found tons of drugs and scores of weapons, including el chapo's prized possession -- this jewel encrusted handgun with his initials on it. that is drew holding it. andrew uncovered another of el chapo's signature items . >> you help yourself to one of the hats. >> i did. i found one going through his safe house. essentially, my only souvenir of the hunt. >> what was the impression of the safe houses in the way he was living? >> he really afforded himself no luxuries. each safe house was the same type of construction. very basic.

walmart style plastic tables. >> not the lavish trappings of a drug kingpin. >> no, not at all. >> and there was something else all the safehouses had in common. >> every single one of them had a tunnel underneath the back tub which connected to the city sewer system. >> when they saw the tunnels, they knew. >> he is gone. i don't know where he's at. >> it was a crushing blow. a low point. tunnels, el chapo's trademark, expertly engineered. access by a secret switch that activated hydraulic lift under the back tub. here is video of drew and brady inside one of those tunnels. el chapo was long gone . no sign of him. it was time to regroup while agents in the u.s. worked to locate el chapo. drew and his team waited in culiacan. exhausted and on edge, spent

four days continuing to dismantle el chapo's criminal network from within his stronghold. >> you slept in one of his beds. >> i did. several of them. we needed somewhere to stay, and the marines turned them into their bases. we went into the kitchen and ate the food out of his refrigerator. popped open a pacifico, a beer out of his fridge. >> that must have been surreal sitting there in his living room, drinking his beer, sleeping on his bed. >> it was almost like, you know, i had become him. in a way. >> but el chapo was cunning and elusive . >> mentally, had you almost caught him at that point? >> yes. we are so close, i can taste it. >> coming up. >> we locked eyes there for a split second. >> at last, the hunter and the hunted come face-to-face.

>> every single time we got close, he would escape. he's like harry houdini. >> who had the ace up his sleeve this time? >> i couldn't believe it. >> when dateline continues. but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪

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because it actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a game changer for my patients. it really works. i think that this product is a game changer for my patients. lester holt: drug enforcement agent drew hogan and the team of us agents and mexican marines had been close, so close to catching el chapo guzmán. >> drug enforcement agent drew hogan and the team of u.s. agents and mexican marines had been close -- so close to catching el chapo guzman. but the drug pin kingpin had escaped through a secret tunnel under his bathtub. the trail had not gone

completely cold, however. figuring el chapo had fled with someone he trusted, the dea, armed with information from another case, tracked the cell phone of the kingpin's chief in orser. >> he had driven at a high rate of speed from culiacan.to mazatlan. he turned around and came right back to culiacan. >> you are actually seeing the location without phone is? and you see it go from culiacan to mazatlan quickly? and then return? >> right. >> no other mission than to take el chapo to safety. >> mazatlan, the famous beach resort on the mexican coast that attracts thousands of u.s. tourists a year. it was just a two hour drive from culiacan. drew hogan and the team were ready to go, but they needed a plan first. >> we couldn't take 300 marines down there.

he would know we were coming in an instant. >> instead, they would sneak into mazatlan under the radar of el chapo's vast network of lookouts . his . >> we buy civilian clothes. t-shirts and shorts and flip- flops, and we are tourists. >> we are trying to not look like an invading army at this point. >> we all left at different times out of the city from different locations. >> they still didn't know just where in mazatlan el chapo is holed up. >> we were halfway to mazatlan, and he finds that new top-tier number. and weeping it in the back seat, and it's on the coast. >> what is it pointing to? >> it's pointing to a place called miramar, to the middle of the city. like, this is it. this is where it is at. >> they had trapped el chapo guzman top-tier underling to this apartment building, miramar.

they would soon find out if el chapo was with him. >> we set the operation for 3:30 in the morning. >> more than a decade of collective investigative work had come down to a predawn raid in the tourist heart of the city. the whole team, suited backup and military gear. >> tell me how it went from that point. >> we came up right to the front of the hotel, got up. the marines began filtering inside. i was standing up right in camouflage wearing a black ski mask. at this time, i had el chapo's black ball cap on my head . >> they determined el chapo is likely holed up on the fourth floor , knowing he had his bodyguards were most certainly armed. the team was worried the operation would turn into a firefight, catching civilians in and around the apartment building in the deadly crossfire. >> i was worried about a perimeter and didn't have

enough manpower. so i wanted to stay outside. >> drew watched as lights flicked on in the building. the mexican marines had begun to make their entry. >> that's when i heard the excited radio chatter, and i ran up to the guy who had the radio and i say, what did they say? >> he said, they got the target. they got him. >> him, el chapo. drew had spent four years hunting el chapo. he had weathered the danger and anxiety of stalking him on his own turf and sacrifice countless hours with his family. and now, finally, he was about to come face-to-face with the object of his obsession. drew drove his armored car into the garage. >> you are about to pick up el chapo. >> i run over to him, i jumped into his face, and the first thing that comes to my mind -- i go -- what's up, el chapo?

and his eyes kinda bulged out of his head, and we locked eyes there just for a split second. they put him into my vehicle into the back seat, and that's what i told him to turn around and look at me, took a couple of pictures, and that was it. he was done. >> as i listen to you tell the story, i find myself shocked that this was in a bloodbath. that there was no dramatic shootout. in fact, there were no shots fired at all, were there? >> none. i couldn't believe it. i could not believe it. we could have ended up in a gunfight at every door. every raid. driving around every corner. and it didn't happen. >> a mexican marine helicopter met the convoy and picked up their prize catch, flying him to a nearby military base. drew and brady recorded their celebration on drew's phone.

back at the base, drew again pulled out his phone. here he is with brady, posing next to a blindfolded el chapo. and drew caught a few moments of el chapo's interrogation by the mexican marines. hard to believe, but here is the world's most dangerous drug lord complaining about his teeth. and with el chapo finally in custody, there was one person drew wanted to talk to -- his wife. >> i hadn't talked to her in days. and i grabbed my phone, and i sent a quick text, and i said i got him. and she writes back -- no way. and i said, yeah. i'm coming home. >> it was over. >> that was it.

>> tonight, the world's top drug lord is in custody after decades on the run. >> the news of el chapo's capture reverberated around the world. >> they grabbed el chapo guzman after years of a manhunt. he's like harry houdini out there, just evading law enforcement every single time he got close. he would escape. so basically, it was an amazing success for everyone. >> drew flew back to mexico city, mission accomplished. but then -- the unthinkable. >> coming up. >> i just felt a wave wash over me. >> one more houdini move, and one wild last stand. >> he was always one step ahead. >> went dateline continues. co i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people

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lester holt: mexico city, two days after the extraordinary capture of el chapo, >> mexico city, two days after the extraordinary capture of el chapo. dea agent drew hogan returned to his desk at the u.s. embassy. >> i have this feeling, this empty feeling. it was completely hollow. i expected to be doing cartwheels up and down the hall, ecstatic. but it wasn't. >> drew could not extend why he was suddenly depressed. >> it felt almost like i was

placed at dea to do this. and then once it was done, that was it. it's time for me to go. >> eight months later, special agent drew hogan walked away from the dea and left mexico with his family. he got a job in the private sector, and that was supposed to be the end of the story. then, 17 months after el chapo's capture -- >> i was in the back seat of the taxi cab in rome on my way to the airport, headed to new york city to meet with my literary agent about the story. when my wife sent me a text. she writes, c is out. he just escaped. >> c -- el chapo. he had escaped from prison again. drew's head was spinning. >> and i just felt a wave wash

over me there in the back seat of that taxicab. not knowing what was right anymore. it was -- i couldn't believe it. he was always one step ahead. >> turns it was all caught on tape. executed authorities had installed a security camera and el chapo's excel as a precaution. >> you see el chapo just walking back and forth inside the cell, and then you store to stop seeing him. he just sort of disappears out of the frame, and that's where he left. >> as a world learned, el chapo escaped through a tunnel dug right under the prison and up into his cell. the job to retake him was now in the hands of the mexican marines and virtually the same group of u.s. agents, minus drew. but this time, they weren't starting from scratch. >> they understood his organization, the interest of the number, his movements. he wasn't as clever as he

thought. >> learning from and building on the 2014 playbook, the mexican and u.s. team cornered el chapo on january 8, 2016, just six months after he escaped. but this time, he didn't go down without a fight, and it was wild. this helmet cam footage shot by a mexican marine capture the operation as a quickly devolved into a shootout. killing five of el chapo's men and injuring one marine. el chapo was once again in custody . and this time, quietly extradited to the united states. in february 2019, guzman was convicted on all 10 charges against him, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit murder.

he was sentenced to life +30 years in an american prison. but the drug wars rage on. el chapo's arrest did not stem the flow of narcotics across the u.s. border, and there were nearly 30,000 murders in mexico in 2017. at the time, a record for that country. most of the killings were linked to drug violence, and the cartels are evolving, becoming key suppliers of the fentanyl that is wreaking havoc on the streets of america. >> enforcement is only one piece of the problem, right? i am very confident that we made a difference. but the reality is, unless you stop the man, these young kids getting addicted, they have no idea what they are taking. this is going to be a very long battle. it starts with the schools, the educators. we need to have a full-court blitz. >> even though he left the dea in 2014, drew still has security concerns.

>> afraid? >> no. i wouldn't say afraid. just hyperaware. ready for anything. >> and ready for his place in law enforcement history. a dea agent who is obsessed with the hunt for the most wanted drug lord in the world. >> i think that's where people had gotten caught up before, is that they just become almost infatuated with the man, with the legend, with the myth. and for me, that was never the case. it was about the challenge. it was about the hunt. that's all that mattered. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning. thanks for watching. anks for w. [music playing] hello, i'm andrea canning, man: there was a party. there was a uk football player that had been shot. he's killed on his birthday. and i was like, it's who?