Mexico: Top drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman escapes

In a statement issued by Mexico’s National Security Commission, Guzman went to the Altiplano prison’s showers early on Sunday morning (local time) – the last time he was seen by security officials.

Guzman heads the Sinaloa cartel, which, according to an opinion piece by the author Don Winslow that was published last month by CNN, is by far the most dominant drug traffiicking organization in Mexico today.

After disappearing from video surveillance, corrections officers inspected his cell and discovered it empty.

Guzman’s recapture in 2014 was hailed as a victory for the Mexican Government.

A search operation to find Mexico’s top drug lord is underway, and flights at Toluca airport near Mexico City have been suspended, Mexican authorities said.

In the United States, he is wanted on multiple federal drug trafficking and organized crime charges.

Guzman, who headed Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel and once made it on to Forbes’ list of billionaires, was arrested past year. He escaped from another maximum security prison, Puente Grande in western Jalisco state, in 2001 with the help of prison guards.