Mexico says drug lord ‘Chapo’ Guzman escapes from prison

CNN reported the National Security Commission said Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was discovered to be missing from the Altiplano Federal Prison when guards were doing a routine check on Saturday.

According to the country’s National Security Commission, the drug kingpin who headed the Sinaloa Cartel was last seen entering the shower area where prisoners also clean their personal belongings at the Altiplano prison located approximately 56 miles from Mexico City.

Mexico’s most powerful drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, escaped from a maximum security prison through a tunnel that opened into the shower area of his cell, the country’s top security official announced.

A search operation began immediately for “El Chapo“. Flights in and out of Toluca airport, which is near the prison, were suspended.

Several US attorneys’ offices have indicted Guzman on federal trafficking charges, including in Chicago, where more than a dozen Guzman lieutenants have been successfully prosecuted and imprisoned.

Guzman escaped late Saturday from Mexico’s top-security prison.

In 2001, he escaped from Puente Grande, another Mexican maximum-security prison in western Jalisco state, helped by prison guards. Its reach spans as far away as Europe and Australia. It was greatly involved in Mexico’s drug war, which claimed the lives of over 100,000 people.

After his re-arrest past year, the U.S. requested Guzman’s extradition, but Mexican judges quickly ruled that he would first stand trial in Mexico.

This is the second time Guzman has escaped from prison in his drug-running career.

Until Guzman escaped, Rubido said, “the day had gone on normally and at around 8:00 pm he was given his daily dose of medicine”. That risk ‘does not exist, ‘ Murillo Karam said.

Guzman’s exploits have also made him a legend in many impoverished communities of northern Mexico, where he has been immortalised in dozens of ballads and low-budget movies.

In Mexico, the diminutive Guzman became a larger-than-life figure as he eluded authorities while expanding a drug empire that spanned the world.

“They were concerned about how risky he was, and they had a lack of confidence in the Mexican authorities to stop him operating from jail”, he added.

He was captured in February previous year after more than a decade on the run. They include Miguel Angel Trevino, leader of the Zetas drug cartel, and Edgar “La Barbie” Valdes Villarreal of the Beltran Leyva cartel, the AP reports.