Docs: Gov’t had intel on earlier escape plots by drug lord

The full implications of the jailbreak are yet to emerge, but the high-profile escape could provide the United States government with leverage to demand the extradition of other top drug lords held in the very same prison.

While his rivals remain in prison, Guzman has been on the lam since late Saturday, when he spectacularly broke out of his cell through a 1.5-kilometre tunnel that was dug under his shower. Its scale has raised suspicions of corruption that could most discourage the US, Mexico’s main ally that has poured more than $1 billion into joint efforts at battling organized crime cartels, much of it focused on reforming the criminal justice system.

He was first caught by authorities in Guatemala in 1993, extradited and sentenced to 20 years in prison on drug-trafficking-related charges. Although he was captured by authorities in February of 2014, many did not doubt he still essentially ran the cartel from his cell.

The DEA documents obtained by the AP do not include details of how the previous escape plots would be carried out.

After spending millions helping recapture Guzman, they are furious he is now at large once again. Guzman has been married at least four times and sired 10 children – most of whom have followed him into the drug trade.

As authorities hunted Monday for any sign of Mexico’s most powerful drug lord, security experts said it’s clear that Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s escape through an elaborately designed tunnel must have involved help on a grand scale.

A widespread manhunt that included highway checkpoints, stepped-up border security and closure of an global airport failed to turn up any trace of Guzman by Monday, more than 24 hours after he got away.

In a string of tweets, Trump doubled down on his anti-immigration stance, directing his rage toward fellow USA presidential candidates, the Mexican government, and Guzman.

“The spectacular [second] escape adds to the Chapo Guzman legend”, Mike Vigil, a retired chief of worldwide operations at the US Drug Enforcement Administration, said.

Guzman’s Twitter attack was an apparent response to Trump’s Twitter post on Sunday about Guzman’s escape: “Can you envision Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton negotiating with ‘El Chapo, ‘ the Mexican drug lord who escaped from prison?”

Prosecutors questioned more then 30 prison employees of various ranks, including the warden, the attorney general’s office said, signaling suspicions of a possible inside job. That July, the same investigation revealed that Guzman’s son had sent a team of lawyers and military counter-intelligence personnel to design a break-out plan.

His well planned escape is an embarrassment to the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Mexican security forces have been scrambling to save face and recapture the kingpin since his Saturday jail break as authorities investigated whether guards helped him escape.

When the head of the Sinaloa Drug Cartel escaped from jail recently, one of his first acts was freaky.

French President Francois Hollande and Pena Nieto have since mended ties after Cassez was released in 2013 by the Supreme Court, which ruled her arrest was rife with irregularities.