Top Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has escaped from a
maximum security prison for the second time, security officials
announced yesterday.
Guzman, who headed the
powerful Sinaloa Cartel, was last seen in the area of the showers in the
Altiplano prison outside of Mexico City
The National Security Commission said in a
statement that Guzman went to the showers shortly before 9 p.m. and
wasn't seen for a while. Upon checking his cell, authorities found that
it was empty.
A search operation began immediately in
the surrounding area and highways. Flights have also been suspended at
Toluca airport near the penitentiary.
Guzman was captured
in February 2014 after more than a decade on the run. He faces multiple
federal drug trafficking indictments in the U.S. and was on the DEA's
most-wanted list.
Guzman had been caught previously in Guatemala
in 1993, extradited and sentenced to 20 years in prison in Mexico for
murder and drug trafficking. He escaped from another maximum security
prison, Puente Grande in western Jalisco state, in 2001 with the help of
prison guards.
The Sinaloa Cartel empire stretches throughout
North America and reaches as far away as Europe and Australia. The
cartel has been heavily involved in the bloody drug war that has torn
through parts of Mexico for the last several years.
Sinaloa is believed now to control most of the major crossing points for drugs at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Source: AP
Title : Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman escapes from prison
Description : Top Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has escaped from a maximum security prison for the second time, security offici...
