Top drug lord escapes from prison

MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s most notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has escaped from a high security prison in central Mexico, officials said on Sunday, the second time he has given his captors the slip in 15 years.

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.

The National Security Commission said in a statement that Guzman went to the showers shortly before 9pm and was not seen for a while. The jail authorities found his cell empty upon inspection.

Officials have begun a search of the area and have closed the Toluca airport.

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

Guzman was arrested a year ago by Mexican security forces.

In 2001, the drug lord escaped the Puente Grande prison, near the city of Guadalajara.

In 2013, Philippine authorities battling illegal drugs said some elements of the Sinaloa cartel had penetrated the country on “exploratory” missions, attributing to it the operations of an alleged illegal drugs ring in a Batangas farm that was raided on Christmas Day.