Joaquin Guzman Loera (aka the infamous El Chapo)

Joaquin Guzman, also known as El Chapo, is the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. He is an extremely wealthy and powerful man. In fact, Forbes listed him as #41 of the 67 most powerful people in the world in 2009. In the 1980s he worked with the original cartel mastermind Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, and used what he learned to form his own cartel after his "teacher" was imprisoned. He smuggles tons of cocaine, marijuana, and heroin from Mexico into the United States via a complicated series of tunnels, warehouses, cargo vessels, and so on.

This man is part reality, part myth. For instance, when he was incarcerated, it is believed (though it can not be proven), that he had the prison guards on his payroll. He also smuggled contraband into the prison and even had relations with some of the female prison guard staff. Apparently, a few days before he was due to be extradited to the USA, Guzmán bribed several guards and escaped via laundry van. However, some (according to Rolling stone, which can not be taken seriously) even believe he was let go by the Mexican government, so that he could aid them in fighting both the Tijuana Cartel and the BLO (who apparently have an alliance with the dreaded Zetas).

He is married to an 18 year old beauty queen, and apparently at the wedding, the ceremony was so heavily guarded that even the Mexican military (who were supposedly aware of its location) did not even think about initiating any sort of attack.

In Nuevo Laredo, according to bbc.com, Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman walked into a restaurant with about 30 of his armed henchmen, and announced that they didn't want any trouble. His men confiscated cellphones from bystanders, and after eating his meal, he apologized and paid for everyone's check.

Jesse James was a bad man. Billy the kid was a bad man. And guess what? So is Joaquin Guzman. However, much like those wild west bandits, the myth of El Chapo will continue to grow even after his eventual death, which due to his profession, should be relatively soon.