September 27, 2018
Have you ever imagined being a billionaire? How about being a fugitive? Well, El Chapo was both a billionaire and a fugitive. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman became the leader of the Sinaloa cartel in the late 1980s. He was first captured on June 9, 1993, and was transported to Almoloya maximum security prison in Mexico. El Chapo constantly asked to be relocated, and in November of 1995, he was sent to the Puente Grande prison near Guadalajara. On January 19, 2001, El Chapo escaped by hiding in a dirty-laundry cart which guards led to the gate, and then he proceeded to walk out the building dressed as a policeman. The escape was like something you would see in a movie. Shortly after his escape, El Chapo resumed his leadership in the Sinaloa Cartel, which is one of the most powerful and violent drug trafficking syndicates in the world. The Sinaloa Cartel primarily smuggles and distributes Columbian cocaine, Mexican marijuana, methamphetamine, and Mexican and Southeast Asian heroin into the United States.1
On February 22, 2014, El Chapo, asleep next to his wife and 2-year-old twin daughters, was captured at a hotel in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. He had no time to escape nor grab his weapons. Once he was captured, the United States wanted El Chapo to be handed across the border for drug trafficking charges in U.S. federal court. However, Mexico insisted that they would detain El Chapo, and keep him so secure that he would not see the world in hundreds of years.2 He returned to prison after making a legendary escape 13 years ago through a tunnel he had fabricated. The prison he was placed in went to great lengths to ensure its security — by checking if the walls were hollowed, having a set shower time, and forcing inmates to have their heads shaved every seven to twelve days. Mexico officials felt that El Chapo should do his time in Mexico before being extradited to the United States.3
On Saturday, July 11, 2015, word spread that El Chapo had escaped Altiplano Prison again. The next morning Mexican officials confirmed this news. Surprisingly, he had escaped through a 1.5-kilometre tunnel from a small opening in the shower area of his cell.4 Altiplano has a multitude of ground-level security measures such as the prison being covered in CCTV cameras and access control points.5 El Chapo was located in the special treatments area, hallway two, cell 20. The video footage Osorio Chong released from inside El Chapo’s prison cell showed Guzman entering the shower then disappearing at 8:52 p.m.6
One inmate, Flavio Sosa, was in the same unit seven years prior at the prison from which El Chapo escaped. He claims that this prison is not one you can easily escape from, because there are only 20 inmates in the special treatment area and a camera is watching you at all times in your cell. On top of that, there is a special visit program to intimidate inmates and inspect every cell thoroughly. In his words, “They strip you naked and once you are naked you have to do three squats, show them your testicles… Then, they enter your cell with dogs to examine it, with a tool that they use to knock on the wall on the floor… You have a shower time at 5:45 in the morning. Nobody can turn on the shower during the day or night.” This escape really exposed the weaknesses in the Mexican justice and prison system.7
This isn’t the first time El Chapo has used tunnels to traffic or escape authorities. The tunnel he used to escape Altiplano prison also gave people a glimpse of the tunnels the Sinaloa Cartel likely use to traffic drugs across borders without being detected. Many people blame the Mexican government for the escape of El Chapo, causing them to lose trust in their government. El Chapo’s escape was demoralizing — through it, Mexican citizens lost the trust of the government’s abilities to protect their citizens as well as the trust between both borders. 8
Crime
drug trafficking
El Chapo
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman
Mexico
prison
prison break
Kaitlyn Killebrew
Wow, this article is amazing. I remember hearing news of his escape in 2015, but never received a lot of information on it. I had no idea that he escaped from prison twice. His escape really is that of a movie. Hiding in the laundry basket and then walking out dressed as a police officer. What did he use to create the pathway that he escaped from? I was a little confused on one aspect. Flavio Sosa had said that their shower time was at 5:45 a.m but he went into the shower and disappeared at 8:52 p.m?
27/09/2018
1:02 pm
Michael Hinojosa
Growing up I heard stories of this famous billionaire fugitive through my teachers, my peers, and the news with each individual person having their own unique perspective on the man. Some saw him as one of the worst criminals in the world while some saw him as one of the most sly and interesting criminals in the world. I was never able to fully understand just how fascinating of a criminal he was until I read this article because never before had I ever thought one man would be able to break the trust the people had with their government.
27/09/2018
1:02 pm
Reagan Meuret
It is very impressive that El Chapo has been able to do so many things in his life that have seemed impossible. I had always knew he was the master of great escape, but I never had any idea that he escaped from such a high security prison. In reality, it would have clearly been the better choice to send him to the United States to do his time, as I have a hard time believing that he would be able to escape one of our federal prisons.
27/09/2018
1:02 pm
Madison Guerra
It very obvious that the Mexican government is corrupt. It is often believed that the Mexican government has a big part in the cartels and the distribution of drugs. It wouldn’t surprise me that Mexico wanted to keep El Chapo rather than sending him to the United States where he would never escape. Is there proof that the Mexican government let him escape to keep the cartel going? No one could ever know for sure.
28/09/2018
1:02 pm
Gabriela Ochoa
The fact the he was able to escape multiple times shows how much power he has over the Mexican government. The Mexican government is very corrupt and it would have been easy for him to get out. By keeping him in Mexico the government can continue their business that they have been said to have with the Sinaloa and other cartels in Mexico.
28/09/2018
1:02 pm
Martina Rodriguez
I have to wonder why he constantly asked to be relocated? I love the extent of Mexico’s vow to keep El Chapo detained, but I have to question why they enforced the head shaving. What purpose does that have for prison security. Lovely use of the Flavio Sosa quote, really added to the story. Was El Chapo ever found again?
28/09/2018
1:02 pm
Raymond Munoz
Overall, this article is amazingly well written due to the details of how resourceful El Chapo was and how incompetent the Altiplano Prison was. Though, now knowing how resourceful El Chapo was I can’t help but wonder what might have happened had the U.S. gained custody of him one of the first few times. Personally, I would hope that are prisons are secure enoug, but I think there’s a chance he would’ve escaped and changed the perspective of U.S. security. Now, there is a part in the conclusion where the statement of trust in the Mexican government becomes a little redundant, but this minor issue does not take away from the major effect of the article.
27/09/2018
1:02 pm