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| Mexican Drug Kingpin Known as El Chapo Escapes Prison | |
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| Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the infamous Mexican drug kingpin whose capture last year had been trumpeted by his country’s government as a crucial victory in the bloody campaign against the narcotics trade, escaped from a maximum-security prison through a tunnel that led from a shower, Mexican security officials said on Sunday. | Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the infamous Mexican drug kingpin whose capture last year had been trumpeted by his country’s government as a crucial victory in the bloody campaign against the narcotics trade, escaped from a maximum-security prison through a tunnel that led from a shower, Mexican security officials said on Sunday. |
| The government detailed the escape in a news conference early Sunday. Mr. Guzmán, known by the nickname El Chapo, or Shorty, absconded through a passage tall enough for a person to stand upright and equipped with overhead lighting and a motorcycle on rails likely used to transport digging equipment and haul out dirt. | The government detailed the escape in a news conference early Sunday. Mr. Guzmán, known by the nickname El Chapo, or Shorty, absconded through a passage tall enough for a person to stand upright and equipped with overhead lighting and a motorcycle on rails likely used to transport digging equipment and haul out dirt. |
| Though this was perhaps Mexico’s most spectacular prison escape since a previous one by Mr. Guzmán, in 2001, the country has seen many breakouts, which have often occurred with the collusion of the authorities. | Though this was perhaps Mexico’s most spectacular prison escape since a previous one by Mr. Guzmán, in 2001, the country has seen many breakouts, which have often occurred with the collusion of the authorities. |
| Officials said on Sunday that Mr. Guzmán left through an opening measuring about 20 inches by 20 inches that had been dug from his shower. It connected with a broader, more elaborate tunnel that was about a mile long and about 30 feet deep. | Officials said on Sunday that Mr. Guzmán left through an opening measuring about 20 inches by 20 inches that had been dug from his shower. It connected with a broader, more elaborate tunnel that was about a mile long and about 30 feet deep. |
| Mr. Guzmán was being held in what was said to be Mexico’s most secure prison, the Altiplano, about a 90-minute drive west from the capital. The police were deployed to watch all the roads around the area, and the nearby Toluca airport was closed. | Mr. Guzmán was being held in what was said to be Mexico’s most secure prison, the Altiplano, about a 90-minute drive west from the capital. The police were deployed to watch all the roads around the area, and the nearby Toluca airport was closed. |
| If there were a single prisoner that the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto could not afford to lose, Mr. Guzmán was the one. His crime syndicate extended far beyond the country’s borders, and his arrest was presented as a testament to the Peña Nieto administration’s growing ability to assert stability and sovereignty. | If there were a single prisoner that the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto could not afford to lose, Mr. Guzmán was the one. His crime syndicate extended far beyond the country’s borders, and his arrest was presented as a testament to the Peña Nieto administration’s growing ability to assert stability and sovereignty. |
| “Yes, they might be great at catching them, but not so much at keeping them behind bars,” said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico and the editor of El Daily Post. “El Chapo’s escape has demolished the ‘efficiency’ image the government has tried to build.” | “Yes, they might be great at catching them, but not so much at keeping them behind bars,” said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico and the editor of El Daily Post. “El Chapo’s escape has demolished the ‘efficiency’ image the government has tried to build.” |
| Eighteen prison employees were taken into custody for questioning, the authorities said. | Eighteen prison employees were taken into custody for questioning, the authorities said. |
| Mr. Guzmán was last seen shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday on the prison’s video cameras when he entered the shower in his cell. After he did not come out, guards entered the cell only to find it empty. | Mr. Guzmán was last seen shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday on the prison’s video cameras when he entered the shower in his cell. After he did not come out, guards entered the cell only to find it empty. |
| The tunnel that Mr. Guzmán used to reach freedom was an elaborate construction and about two to two and a half feet wide, Mexico’s security commissioner, Monte Alejandro Rubido, said in the news conference. | The tunnel that Mr. Guzmán used to reach freedom was an elaborate construction and about two to two and a half feet wide, Mexico’s security commissioner, Monte Alejandro Rubido, said in the news conference. |
| There was tubing for ventilation, lighting and the motorcycle. Along its course, the tunnel was equipped with oxygen tanks, fuel canisters and construction materials, including wooden beams. | There was tubing for ventilation, lighting and the motorcycle. Along its course, the tunnel was equipped with oxygen tanks, fuel canisters and construction materials, including wooden beams. |
| It opened onto a construction site in the neighborhood of Santa Juanita in the municipality of Almoloya de Juárez southwest of the prison. | It opened onto a construction site in the neighborhood of Santa Juanita in the municipality of Almoloya de Juárez southwest of the prison. |
| Experts who follow the drug underworld were left dumbfounded and predicted the escape could bolster American demands to extradite top crime figures, particularly when United States law enforcement personnel have played major roles in many cases, and not without personal risk. | Experts who follow the drug underworld were left dumbfounded and predicted the escape could bolster American demands to extradite top crime figures, particularly when United States law enforcement personnel have played major roles in many cases, and not without personal risk. |
| “It’s shocking, embarrassing, a huge blow, almost everything under the sun,” said Eric L. Olson, a scholar at the Mexico Institute of the Wilson Center who follows crime trends in Latin America. “It is almost Mexico’s worst nightmare, and I suspect many in U.S. law enforcement are apoplectic right now.” | “It’s shocking, embarrassing, a huge blow, almost everything under the sun,” said Eric L. Olson, a scholar at the Mexico Institute of the Wilson Center who follows crime trends in Latin America. “It is almost Mexico’s worst nightmare, and I suspect many in U.S. law enforcement are apoplectic right now.” |
| “Mexico is going to be under increasing pressure from the U.S. in terms of extraditing these top people,” he said. | “Mexico is going to be under increasing pressure from the U.S. in terms of extraditing these top people,” he said. |
| Mexico has long struggled to reshape its police forces and root out corruption, but Mr. Olson said the prison system often takes a back seat as “the last thing in the chain of law enforcement.” | Mexico has long struggled to reshape its police forces and root out corruption, but Mr. Olson said the prison system often takes a back seat as “the last thing in the chain of law enforcement.” |
| In addition to pioneering the use of tunnels to smuggle drugs across, or rather under, the United States border, Mr. Guzmán built a warren of them in Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa, where his cartel was based and where he was believed to have been hiding for years. Days before his capture last year, Mexican marines and American law enforcement officers raided the home of his ex-wife in Culiacán only to find that he had fled though a secret door beneath a bathtub that led to a network of tunnels and sewer canals that connected to six other houses. | In addition to pioneering the use of tunnels to smuggle drugs across, or rather under, the United States border, Mr. Guzmán built a warren of them in Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa, where his cartel was based and where he was believed to have been hiding for years. Days before his capture last year, Mexican marines and American law enforcement officers raided the home of his ex-wife in Culiacán only to find that he had fled though a secret door beneath a bathtub that led to a network of tunnels and sewer canals that connected to six other houses. |
| Mr. Guzmán was finally caught in an apartment he used in the Pacific resort city of Mazatlán. | Mr. Guzmán was finally caught in an apartment he used in the Pacific resort city of Mazatlán. |
| Before his capture, Mr. Guzmán presided over a vast network that smuggled cocaine and marijuana into the United States and reached as far as Europe and Africa. | Before his capture, Mr. Guzmán presided over a vast network that smuggled cocaine and marijuana into the United States and reached as far as Europe and Africa. |
| A few days after Mr. Guzmán’s arrest, Mr. Peña Nieto told the Univision television network in an interview that he would be asking his interior minister every day if the prisoner was well guarded. “It’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that the escape that occurred a few years ago is never ever repeated,” Mr. Peña Nieto said. | A few days after Mr. Guzmán’s arrest, Mr. Peña Nieto told the Univision television network in an interview that he would be asking his interior minister every day if the prisoner was well guarded. “It’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that the escape that occurred a few years ago is never ever repeated,” Mr. Peña Nieto said. |
| Mr. Olson said it was surprising that Mexican officials apparently did not take measures to prevent a tunnel from being dug, considering Mr. Guzmán’s extensive use of them. Or worse, he added, “it is an indication of the ability of someone with his economic power and network to corrupt and buy the silence from people, including obviously the people at the prison itself and law enforcement authorities.” | Mr. Olson said it was surprising that Mexican officials apparently did not take measures to prevent a tunnel from being dug, considering Mr. Guzmán’s extensive use of them. Or worse, he added, “it is an indication of the ability of someone with his economic power and network to corrupt and buy the silence from people, including obviously the people at the prison itself and law enforcement authorities.” |
| Mr. Peña Nieto, in France on a state visit, issued a statement calling the breakout “without a doubt an affront to the Mexican state.” Though the president plans to remain in France, he ordered his interior minister, Jose Osorio Chong, to return immediately to coordinate the effort to recapture Mr. Guzman. | Mr. Peña Nieto, in France on a state visit, issued a statement calling the breakout “without a doubt an affront to the Mexican state.” Though the president plans to remain in France, he ordered his interior minister, Jose Osorio Chong, to return immediately to coordinate the effort to recapture Mr. Guzman. |
| Mr. Guzmán, who is believed to be in his late 50s, began his criminal career by selling marijuana with his father in the mountains of Sinaloa, never studying past the third grade. In the years following his escape from prison in 2001, he became a mythical figure, surrounded by urban legends of sightings. Security personnel closed in on him a couple of times, only to find that he had slipped away just hours before, often through tunnels built into the homes he frequented. | Mr. Guzmán, who is believed to be in his late 50s, began his criminal career by selling marijuana with his father in the mountains of Sinaloa, never studying past the third grade. In the years following his escape from prison in 2001, he became a mythical figure, surrounded by urban legends of sightings. Security personnel closed in on him a couple of times, only to find that he had slipped away just hours before, often through tunnels built into the homes he frequented. |
| He faces indictments in at least seven American federal courts on charges that include narcotics trafficking and murder. In October, a new indictment in Federal District Court in Brooklyn linked him and associates to hundreds of acts of murder, assault, kidnapping and torture. | He faces indictments in at least seven American federal courts on charges that include narcotics trafficking and murder. In October, a new indictment in Federal District Court in Brooklyn linked him and associates to hundreds of acts of murder, assault, kidnapping and torture. |
| In January, however, Mexico’s attorney general, Jesús Murillo Karam, told The Associated Press that Mr. Guzmán would never serve time in the United States. | In January, however, Mexico’s attorney general, Jesús Murillo Karam, told The Associated Press that Mr. Guzmán would never serve time in the United States. |
| “I could accept extradition, but at the time that I choose. El Chapo must stay here to complete his sentence, and then I will extradite him,” Mr. Murillo Karam said then. “So about 300 or 400 years later — it will be a while.” | “I could accept extradition, but at the time that I choose. El Chapo must stay here to complete his sentence, and then I will extradite him,” Mr. Murillo Karam said then. “So about 300 or 400 years later — it will be a while.” |
| The United States never filed a formal extradition request, though American officials did discuss it with their Mexican counterparts, who made it clear that they would not readily give Mr. Guzmán up, American law enforcement officials said not long after Mr. his arrest last year. | The United States never filed a formal extradition request, though American officials did discuss it with their Mexican counterparts, who made it clear that they would not readily give Mr. Guzmán up, American law enforcement officials said not long after Mr. his arrest last year. |
| In a statement, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said, “We share the government of Mexico’s concern regarding the escape of Joaquín Guzmán Loera ‘Chapo’ from a Mexican prison.” | In a statement, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said, “We share the government of Mexico’s concern regarding the escape of Joaquín Guzmán Loera ‘Chapo’ from a Mexican prison.” |
| “The U.S. government stands ready to work with our Mexican partners to provide any assistance that may help support his swift recapture,” the statement added. | “The U.S. government stands ready to work with our Mexican partners to provide any assistance that may help support his swift recapture,” the statement added. |
| The rule of law has long been a challenge for Mexico, and Mr. Guzmán’s case was but the most recent example. Mr. Peña Nieto has tried to move away from the law-and-order concerns of his predecessor, Felipe Calderón, pressing significant economic changes engineered to position Mexico as a success story. But violence connected to the drug trade, and the impunity that accompanies it, has dogged his administration. | The rule of law has long been a challenge for Mexico, and Mr. Guzmán’s case was but the most recent example. Mr. Peña Nieto has tried to move away from the law-and-order concerns of his predecessor, Felipe Calderón, pressing significant economic changes engineered to position Mexico as a success story. But violence connected to the drug trade, and the impunity that accompanies it, has dogged his administration. |
| There was perhaps no more striking example than the deaths of 43 university students in the restive southern state of Guerrero. A mayor, his wife and more than 45 police officers have been arrested in connection with the killings, accused of working on behalf of — or being members of — the gangs that control the area. | There was perhaps no more striking example than the deaths of 43 university students in the restive southern state of Guerrero. A mayor, his wife and more than 45 police officers have been arrested in connection with the killings, accused of working on behalf of — or being members of — the gangs that control the area. |