Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, head of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, evaded authorities for 13 years after escaping from a high-security prison in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.

However, on the morning of Feb. 22, Guzman was captured by a team of Mexican marines and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration while sleeping at a condo in the tourist paradise city of Mazatlan.

Later that afternoon, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto took to Twitter and thanked the Federal Mexican Police along with a handful of organizations for their roles in the capture.

Since taking office, Nieto has assumed more responsibility in the joint Mexican-American efforts to ending the war on drugs. Authorities worked together to capture the man who, according to The Washington Post, supplied more illegal drugs to the U.S. than anyone else in history.

Guzman, 55, is one of the oldest drug kingpins. His commitment to creative smuggling tactics contributed to his success in running arguably the most successful drug cartel in the world.

In one respect, he’s a businessman. An extremely successful businessman.

“If you take the violence out of the drug business, it’s just a business,” said Jerry Joplin, professor of justice & policy studies.

“He provided jobs,” said Sanjay Marwah, assistant professor of justice & policy studies. “He’s an employer.”

His success placed him 67th on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people — ahead of The New York Times’ executive editor and the vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Guzman is responsible for transporting an estimated 50 percent of the illegal drugs imported into the U.S. His main hub is in Chicago, where he has been named Public Enemy No. 1.

According to the FBI’s press release pertaining to the 2009 indictment of Pedro and Margarito Flores, distributors in the Sinaloa Cartel, Guzman imported between 1,500–2,000 kg. of cocaine into Chicago every month.

The New York Times reports that Guzman masterminded transportation strategies that involved catapulting bales of marijuana over border fences, building the first tunnels underneath the U.S.-Mexico border and opening a cannery that packed cocaine into cans labeled “Comodre Jalapeños.”

While Guzman is currently being held in an underground cell in Mexico’s Altiplano prison, U.S. authorities indicate corruption in Mexico and Guzman’s escape from prison in 2001 as reasons to extradite the drug lord to one of seven districts in the U.S. that could try him.

Despite the increasing number of calls from the U.S., Guzman has yet to be extradited.

As injunctions lengthen the process, many wonder: will this single arrest make a lasting impact on the war on drugs?

Some hope that Guzman’s imprisonment will begin to dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel. Others believe that, as long as demand is present, drug cartels will continue to take extraordinary risks to make a profit.

“You take down one kingpin … there’s going to be three or four others fighting to succeed and take over,” said Robert Duncan, visiting assistant professor of political science.