Mexico's top drug lord escapes again from maximum security prison
Mexico’s imprisoned top drug lord, Joaquin Guzman, has escaped from a maximum security prison in the country, making it the second time he breaks out of jail, despite Mexican authorities’ vows that it would never happen again following his 2014 rearrest.
A massive manhunt was immediately launched late Saturday night following the disappearance of the head of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, which reportedly has an international reach and controls most of the main drug crossing points at the long US-Mexico borderline.
Mexican authorities announced early Sunday that 18 prison guards are to face interrogation about Guzman's escape.
Guzman, also known as El Chapo, was last seen at about 9:00 p.m. local time on Saturday (0200 GMT Sunday) near the shower area of Altiplano Prison, west of Mexico City, said a Sunday statement issued by the Mexican National Security Commission.
According to local reports, flights were cancelled at Toluca Airport near the prison where Guzman was being held and roads were also under heavy patrol by Federal Police forces.
Guzman's prison break amounts to a major blow to the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto, which has received considerable praise for its aggressive policy in dealing with top drug lords.
Since Nieto was sworn into office in late 2012, Mexican authorities have captured or killed six major drug lords, including Guzman.
Meanwhile, Mexican authorities offered no further comment regarding Guzman's escape, although they have announced a press conference for Sunday morning, local time.
Guzman was first arrested in Guatemala in 1993 and then extradited and sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking.
In 2001, he escaped from Puente Grande, another Mexican maximum security prison, in the western state of Jalisco with the assistance of prison guards.
He was caught again back in February 2014 after evading police authorities for days across his home state of Sinaloa, for which the cartel is named.
Guzman faces multiple federal drug trafficking charges in both the US and Mexico and is also wanted by the Interpol. He was also on the US Drug Enforcement Administration's most-wanted list.
Altiplano, which is regarded as Mexico’s main and the most secure federal prison, also holds the country’s Zetas drug cartel leader, Miguel Angel Trevino, and Edgar Valdes Villarreal, known as La Barbie, of the Beltran-Leyva Cartel.
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