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
- Romero L. Gomez, “El Chapo’ jailbreak is both a Mexican and an American story,” The Conversation (1-4), July 17, 2015. ↵
- E. Eduardo Castillo and Katherine Corcoran, “Cartel boss escapes Mexican prison; Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman used elaborate, 1.5-km tunnel in second break from jail,” The Toronto Star, 2015. ↵
- Rafael Castillo, “Inside El Chapo’s Escape Tunnel,” Vice News, Jul 24, 2015, video. ↵
- E. Eduardo Castillo and Katherine Corcoran, “Cartel boss escapes Mexican prison; Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman used elaborate, 1.5-km tunnel in second break from jail,” The Toronto Star, 2015. ↵
- Helen Regan, “Newly-Released Footage Shows Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman Moments Before His Escape,” Time, 2015. ↵
- Rafael Castillo, “Inside El Chapo’s Escape Tunnel,” Vice News, Jul 24, 2015, video. ↵
- Rafael Castillo, “Inside El Chapo’s Escape Tunnel,” Vice News, Jul 24, 2015, video. ↵
- Alfredo Corchado, “Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman tunnels out of prison,” Dallas Morning News, July 13, 2015. ↵
147 comments
Clarissa Gonzalez
I’ve heard small things about El Chapo from my Hispanic family all the time. He was just another story to tell me and my siblings because it was just that interesting. This dived in a bit more than my grandparents could ever, and was so crazy to read. Some people couldn’t imagine escaping prison even once, but the fact that he managed to do it several times successfully, is just literally crazy. He has to ve some type of genius.
William Ward
Of all the shows that I have watched in relation to the topic, none goes into quite the same detail as this article does. This piece is very well written and does a great job relaying the details of Escobar’s escape. The Mexican government is one of the most corrupt governments in the world, so it is not surprising that Pablo was able to buy the government essentially.
Mason Meza
I had never heard of El Chapo nor his escape. To think that the same person escaped two different prisons within 15 years is bizarre. I would lose trust in my Government to if I had lost the leader of the Worlds largest drug Cartel, not once but twice. It would question the thoughts that I would have like whether or not they helped him escape. I really enjoyed reading this article.
Adam Portillo
El Chapo is without a doubt a very intelligent person. The fact that he escaped a “well secured” prison is astonishing and truly a great feat. It was truly an embarassment for the justice system in Mexico and the Mexican government. In my opinion he should’ve just been extradited to the United States in the first place because he chances of escape could’ve been slimmer. Its crazy to think that it takes such a long time to capture him and then he quickly escapes. Awesome article.
Luisa Ortiz
All I know about El Chapo is because of the Netflix’s Series “El Chapo” lol! The article does a great job describing his scape, it kept me on my toes all the time, I also agree with the rest of the comments, Mexicans did not trust the government prior to the space of El Chapo. For me, the Mexican government is one of the most corrupt government.
Alexander Manibusan
I’m not going to lie, Mexicans didn’t really have any trust in the government to begin with. But when El Chapo made his second prison escape, it further amplified the distrust many have against the government. It shows how El Chapo and people like him have serious power to do whatever they want and show people that nothing will stand in their way.
Micaela Cruz
The story of El Chapo’s famous escapes are incredibly interesting. It’s obvious that with the amount of money he had, he must’ve paid people to aid in his escapes. I see why the citizens of Mexico would lose trust in their government and I find that very unfortunate because we are supposed to be able to rely on our government to keep us safe… but clearly they can’t even do that. The ways in which he escaped were interesting, it’s safe to say that his escapes took extensive planning.
Angel Torres
My dads family lived in the Pueblo of Puente Grande, where El Chapo was initially placed in jail. All my relatives from my dad’s side would tell me about the day El Chapo escaped the Puente Grande Prison. Its really interesting how El Chapo managed to escape not only from one prison but two. People escaping facilities is rarely heard of, but when you have power and influence like El Chapo, I guess it makes it more achievable. I hoped the article provided more details on El Chapo’s escape and his background.
Julia Deais
I knew who El Chapo was, but I did not know that he escaped from jail more than once. It is crazy to me how he could break out that many times. You figure if he broke out once of course he is going to do it again. I personally think El Chapo has help from the outside to escape. He was a wealthy and powerful man, I think if given the right amount many people wouldn’t hesitate to help him out.
Maxx Arizmendi
I find the story of El Chapo to be quite an interesting one. This is mainly because that there were many times he would escape prison. However, it is a possibility that he did not escape alone, because he couldn’t have dug those escape routes all by himself, mainly because that would take more than one person. The ways he escaped seem like they would come straight out of a movie, which makes it so interesting. I thought this article was a geat read.