Reward offered for Mexican drug lord

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration offered $5 million for information on a Mexican drug kingpin, El Universal reported Tuesday.

Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as "El Chapo," is wanted in southern California for conspiracy to import cocaine, possession with intent to distribute and money laundering, the DEA said.

Guzman-Loera escaped from a maximum-security prison in Mexico in 2001 where he was serving a 20-year sentence for bribery and criminal association. The DEA said he has since regained control of his smuggling operation along the U.S.-Mexican border.

The DEA is offering the reward along with the U.S. State Department.