Ex-Prison Chief Among 13 New Arrests in ‘El Chapo’ Prison Escape

Although several others had been arrested earlier for their alleged role in the jailbreak, these 13 detainees are the most senior officials implicated thus far in the escape of the world’s most-wanted drug trafficker. He dropped through a hole in a shower into a mile-long tunnel equipped with a modified motorcycle, lighting and ventilation, and has not been officially spotted since. He has not been spotted since.

The drug lord walked into the shower of his cell then disappeared out of sight of a surveillance camera watching him.

Investigators say that Guzman must have had assistance from high-level prison sources to pull off his elaborate jailbreak.

Celina Oseguera Parra, who oversaw the country’s federal prisons, and Valentin Cardenas Lerma, the Altiplano prison director, were among those arrested, said an official with the prosecutor’s office told the AP news agency.

Ms Oseguera was removed from her high-level post after Guzman escaped on 11 July.

At least seven officials, including two members of Mexico’s secret service and two prison control room employees, had already been arrested, accused of not raising the alarm once Guzman had escaped.

Sinaloa drug cartel has supplied much of the marijuana, cocaine and heroin sold on USA streets.

First arrested in Guatemala in 1993, Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman spent almost a decade in another maximum-security Mexican jail before escaping, reportedly in a laundry basket.

Guzman was jailed for just 18 months before his latest escape. A $3.8 million reward is being offered for Guzman’s arrest.

Shortly after Guzman’s capture in February 2014, Peña Nieto said there was no way Guzman would escape again. Forbes magazine once estimated “El Chapo’s” fortune at $1 billion.