DEA sets up tip line for information about escaped drug lord 'El Chapo'

Federal authorities Wednesday announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the notorious Sinaloa cartel boss whose spectacular escape last month from a high-security Mexican prison through a mile-long tunnel has garnered headlines around the world.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also has set up a toll-free tip line for the public to report information that may help bring Guzman to justice, as well as a new wanted poster naming Guzman as a top international fugitive.

Guzman "has destroyed lives and communities throughout the United States and Mexico and his capture is a high priority for the DEA," acting Commissioner Chuck Rosenberg said in a statement. "His escape poses a danger to the safety and security of both our countries."

The tip line in the U.S. is (844) 692-4101, the DEA said in a news release. Callers outside the U.S. should dial 001-844-692-4101. Tips can also be emailed to chapotips(AT)usdoj.gov.

Guzman faces federal charges in several courts around the country, including Chicago, where he was indicted in 2009 in a sweeping investigation that also targeted his immediate Sinaloa cartel underbosses, the leader of a rival cartel and dozens of drug wholesalers and middlemen from the United States to Mexico.

After breaking out of prison a first time in 2001, Guzman was arrested in the Mexican seaside town of Mazatlan in February 2014 after more than a decade on the run. In the days after Guzman's capture, the Mexican government vowed that it wouldn't allow him to escape again and said it wanted the first crack at prosecuting him before extraditing him to face charges in the U.S.

But on July 11, Guzman escaped through an elaborate tunnel that had been dug under the shower stall in his cell at the Altiplano federal prison near Mexico City. The tunnel, which featured electric lighting and a motorcycle that had been outfitted to run on a rail, led to a house newly built in an open field in plain sight of prison guards, authorities have said.

Surveillance video released by Mexican authorities after the brazen prison break showed Guzman's last moments in captivity before he walked behind a shower wall and disappeared. Law enforcement authorities have said Guzman is believed to have since returned to his power base in the rugged mountains of Sinaloa and resumed control of the cartel.