Drug Lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman Escapes Prison for Second Time
Notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman has escaped from prison again just one year and five months after his arrest at a Mexico beach resort in February 2014.
The criminal mastermind, known as El Chapo, meaning "Shorty," was ranked as one the most powerful people in the world numerous times since 2009. One way Guzman has displayed his power is by illustrating that no bars can hold him.
According to Mexico's National Security Commission, a manhunt is underway to find Guzman. Guzman managed to escape through an opening in the shower near his cell, which led to a mile-long lighted and ventilated tunnel, which had motorcycle tracks. His most recent escape far more elaborate than his 2001 escape, when the crime lord escaped from a high-security prison in a laundry cart, and managed to elude the police until he was apprehended in 2014 when he was arrested at a beach resort in Mexico.
The Sinaloa Cartel, which is headed by Guzman, is one of most powerful and prolific drug cartels, responsible for moving drugs (cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and other drugs) around the world via cargo aircraft, private aircraft, submarines, rail cars, buses and just about any other vessels that they deem necessary for the movement of narcotics, according to the Justice Department.
The trafficking network is responsible for smuggling drugs into San Diego for distribution throughout the U.S., and laundering money through a number of channel. The wide-spanning investigation conducted by the Justice Department has spanned at least 12 states and eight nations, and authorities have been able to seize 1,400 pounds of methamphetamine, nearly 3,000 pounds of cocaine, 12.2 tons of marijuana and 5,500 oxycodone pills, in addition to $14.1 million (USD). Guzman's son, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman-Salazar, aka "El Chapito" was one of the 60 members of the cartel to be indicted.
National Security Commission issued a statement, stating, at 8:52 p.m. on Saturday, surveillance cameras at the Altiplano Federal Prison showed Guzman approaching a shower area, where prisoners also wash their belongings. When Guzman wasn't seen again, security checked his cell and issued an alert. Then, the south central Mexico-located maximum security prison not only launched a manhunt, but closed down the Toluca International Airport.
Michael S. Vigil, a retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief of international operations, said if Guzman is not captured immediately, then the drug lord will likely be back in full command and in control of his cartel. In fact, after a 48 hour window, Vigil believes "We may never find him again."
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