Mexican Drug Lord Escapes
Guards at the Altiplano Federal Prison discovered during a routine check on Saturday that Guzman, known as "El Chapo," was missing, a statement from the commission said.
Guzman escaped through a hole in his cell that led to a lighted and ventilated tunnel nearly a mile long, Mexico National Security spokesman Monte Alejandro Rubido García confirmed Sunday morning at a news conference in Mexico City.
Guzman is the storied boss of one of the world's most powerful and deadly drug trafficking operations.
He escaped in 2001 from a high-security prison in a laundry cart and was not apprehended again until 2014, when he was arrested at a Mexican beach resort.
Speaking to reporters Sunday from France, where he is traveling on a state visit, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto avoided mentioning Guzman by name, but said he was closely following news of the escape of a man who has been among the most wanted criminals in Mexico and around the world.
Peña Nieto said he was "deeply troubled" by "a very unfortunate event that has outraged Mexican society." He vowed that his government would recapture Guzman, step up prison security and investigate whether any prison workers helped the notorious Sinaloa cartel chief break out.
"This represents, without a doubt, an affront to the Mexican state, but also I am confident that the institutions of the Mexican state, particularly those in charge of public safety, are at the level, with the strength and determination, to recapture this criminal," Peña Nieto said.
Source: CNN
