In 1998, in jail and facing mounting legal fees, Miguel "El Gordo" Martinez made what turned out to be a dangerous mistake. The house where one of El Chapo's mistresses and her family were living was in his name. Martinez sold it out from under her to pay his lawyers.
Two months later, three men accosted him in his cell, stabbing him seven times with blades, he said. His lung and intestines were perforated. After surgery, he suffered another knife attack in jail. This time his pancreas was cut.
Martinez was moved to a different jail. One night, he heard a strange sound outside his cell window. It was a band, playing a corrido. He recognized it as one of Chapo's favorites. The song was going into death with nothing. The band played the song all night long, he said.
In the morning, the assassin showed up at his cell. He put a gun to the guard's head and ordered him to open the door. The guard refused: he didn't have a key, So the assassin tossed two hand grenades at Martinez's cell. He survived by shielding himself behind a toilet.
