Mexico Offers $3.8M Bounty For Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán
Mexican officials are offering a $3.8 million reward for information leading to the arrest of infamous drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman following his escape from a maximum security prison on Saturday.
The notorious kingpin reigns over the Sinaloa cartel, a multibillion-dollar global drug empire that supplied much of the marijuana, cocaine and heroin sold in the U.S. The U.S. Justice Department describes the Sinaloa cartel as "one of the world's most prolific, violent and powerful drug cartels," reports CNN.
After spending over a year behind bars at the Altiplano maximum-security prison, newly released video footage shows that he escaped his prison cell through a tunnel. In the video, Guzmán is seen pacing around the cell before he walks over to the shower, bends down behind a partition wall and then disappears from sight.
CCTV footage also shows that he traveled down a sophisticated escape tunnel was complete with lighting, ventilation and a motorbike that was "likely used to remove dirt during excavation and transport the tools for the dig," said Mexican National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido.
Now, experts are racing against the clock to find him.
"The first 72 hours (after the escape) are extraordinarily important here," said Mike Braun, a former chief of operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration who has worked to track and gather evidence on Guzman, according to CNN. "And if they don't get their hands on him then, I don't know. We may never see this guy again."
So far, 49 people have been questioned in connection with the 58-year-old's escape. It is also believed Guzman had help from prison officials.
Guzman's escape marked the second time the notorious drug lord managed to break out of prison. Back in 2000, he escaped from a maximum security a facility in Jalisco, Mexico, and then went on the run for 13 years.
"He is a complete savage," CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes said.
"What they do, and how they do business, is based on complete terror. ... They kill journalists, politicians, police officers, corrections officers. And then not just that person but every member of their family."
In 2009, Forbes listed Guzman as one of the top "self-made" billionaires and estimated that he had accumulated a $1 billion fortune at the time.
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