Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman Arrest Video Reveals Deadly Gunfight That Led To Mexican Drug Lord's Arrrest

Mexican authorities have released footage of marines using an arsenal of weapons to blast their way into the property housing the world's most wanted drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

The Sinaloa drug cartel leader had been on the run since July, when he tunnelled out of a maximum security prison in Mexico.

On January 8, lured by Guzman's henchmen, 17 Mexican marines began their assault on a safe house, in an operation dubbed "black swan". The footage, captured on marines' helmet cameras, was released on Monday.

As marines began firing there way into the property, Guzman used a secret doorway hidden below a mirror in an upstairs bedroom to escape.

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is led away after his arrest

One marine was wounded by gunfire almost immediately and remained outside the interior front door while his comrades slowly advanced inside behind lobbed grenades and heavy fire.

A marine involved in the assault who gave a tour of the house to a reporter from the Mexican network Televisa said there were more people inside than expected and they were more heavily armed, including with rocket-propelled grenades and .50 caliber sniper rifles, the Associated Press reported.

On Monday, attorney general Arely Gomez told local radio that people in the house had ordered food for 13 people the night before the raid.

One gunman was killed in the main room just inside a front door riddled with bullet holes. On Monday the houses's white concrete walls were peppered with bullet holes. Clothing and food - a wheel of cheese, lots of cans - were scattered throughout and beds were tossed. Blood was smeared on the walls.

The marines secured the downstairs rooms first.

As they prepared to go upstairs a marine saw a man at the top of the stairs preparing to fire a rocket-propelled grenade. The marine hit the weapon with a couple of shots causing the gunman to toss it, the marine guide said in the Televisa interview.

The wall above the stairs was particularly damaged by gunfire as gunmen tried to keep the marines from advancing.

Upstairs the marines found two women in a bathroom and two men in a room with a large television.

The home had four bedrooms and five bathrooms. On one upstairs bed were four DVDs from the series La Reina del Sur, starring Kate del Castillo, the Mexican actress who put Guzman in contact with the American actor Sean Penn who did an interview with Guzman for the Rolling Stone.

A mirrored door inside a ground floor closet leads to a the entrance of a tunnel, inside the home marines raided in search of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in Los Mochis, Mexico

On a roof patio marines found tossed weapons and a ladder leading to a higher roof. It took about 15 minutes to secure the house. Then the marines followed the attackers across rooftops. Four more gunmen were killed in this pursuit.

At this point, there had been no sighting of Guzman.

Knowing Guzman's predilection for tunnels, the marines began looking for an opening. Beside a ground floor bedroom littered with clothing, marines entered a walk-in closet and found an unusual panel behind a mirror. Guides showed the Associated Press how a lever hidden behind a ceiling light operated a mechanism opening a door behind the mirror.

SEE ALSO

• Sean Penn Met With 'El Chapo,' And It Apparently Led To His Arrest

• Drug Lord 'El Chapo' Guzman Reportedly Cornered In Mountain Range, Mexican Authorities Claim

• Drug-Smuggling Tunnel Crossing Border Between Mexico And US Discovered By Police

It led to a set of descending stairs.

A six-foot tall tunnel complete with lighting, wood-panelled walls and a concrete floor led to more stairs and then a metal hatch opened into the city's storm sewer. Guzman and his security chief travelled several blocks through the meter-tall storm sewer before popping out in the middle of an intersection. They stole a car, drove a bit, then stole another.

Federal police eventually found them on a highway outside of town and Guzman's flight ended six months after his stunning escape from the same maximum security prison where he now sits.