According to CNN, Mexico’s most notorious drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman escaped from a high security prison on Saturday night for the second time, escaping in a tunnel built right under his cell.
The kingpin reportedly stepped into a shower and slipped into a subterranean tunnel more than 1 mile long to break out from the maximum-security prison. Authorities also revealed they later discovered a lighted and ventilated tunnel nearly a mile long that stretched from the prison to a half-built house, and have since vowed that it wouldn’t be long before the Sinaloa cartel chief was behind bars again.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto while speaking to reporters on Sunday from France, where he is traveling on a state visit,said he was closely following news of the escape of a man who has been among the most wanted criminals in Mexico and around the world, but avoided mentioning the drug lord by name.
“This represents, without a doubt, an affront to the Mexican state, but also I am confident that the institutions of the Mexican state, particularly those in charge of public safety, are at the level, with the strength and determination, to recapture this criminal,” Peña Nieto said.
Guzman’s cartel is one of the world’s most powerful and deadly drug trafficking operations. He escaped in 2001 from a high-security prison in a laundry cart and was not apprehended again until 2014, when he was arrested at a Mexican beach resort.
A massive manhunt is currently underway to find Guzman, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said.