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
Janelle Larios
I didn’t realize he had escaped so many times out of prison. The pride of having El Chapo arrested and locked up in prison must have been great and, but they could keep that pride cause he had escaped. Although I believe if El Chapo had gone to prison int he U.S I still think he would have been able to escape somehow. Even if he had to wait a couple of years I think he could have made a plan to get out of there. It was a good article to read, very informative.
Tyanne Pearcy
I have heard of El Chapo but I never really heard of this story and this article touches on some intense highlights in his life. The fact that he was able to escape more than one prison facility just proved how powerful El Chapo was in his community. It is understandable for the people of Mexico to not trust the government as he was able to escape even when he could have been in US hands in a more advanced facility.
Bruno Montes de Oca
This story makes me laugh whenever I read it again. It really is a shame at how things are handled by the Mexican Government. The corruption in the system is just sad and really disheartening to me as a Mexican American. It is also sad how they did not accept the USA’s help that was offered. Had El Chapo been handed over, this story would be entirely different. Nonetheless, the drug trade needs to be stopped but with the corruption in Mexico right now I just don’t see how that will be possible.
Jasmine Rocha
El Chapo was a very smart and capable person and at this point, it is not shocking that he was able to escape prison many times. I like how the author pointed out that how El Chapo can escape more than once and it might be because Mexican prisons were not as secure as they made it seam. I wish the article had more details on how he might have escaped and more background to what made El Chapo who he is.
Greyson Addicott
I am almost convinced that Helen Keller herself could have escaped that “prison” if she had enough influence in Mexican society and politics. I would wager that, when Mexico refused to hand El Chapo over to the United States, officials within the Mexican government were already betting on his escape. Mexican government itself almost represents a gang, as the “democratic” party has won every single presidential election for over 100 years. They take money from the people, mismanage the funds, and do nothing to stop the millions of people fleeing to other countries, legally or otherwise.
Adrian Cook
El Chapo is a very smart man with a lot of people behind his back which helped his planned escapes. There have been many times El Chapo has escaped custody of officials many times which is why it’s hard for the Mexican citizens to put their trust in the Government. It must’ve took long days of planning and building of these tunnels to be able to execute the escape at an exact time. It’s always interesting to see the escape take place which made this article a very interesting read.
Cynthia Rodriguez
Living on a border town near Mexico, I had heard of El Chapo but I was not aware of how many times he escaped from prison. It is insane that he managed to escape from prison more than once. I am sure he got some help the second time he escaped. As inmate Flavio Sosa pointed out, the camera is always watching and that there is only 20 inmates in the unit El Chapo was in. Because of this, I do not think he did this completely on his own. I also understand why Mexican citizens lose their trust in the government. The U.S. wanted El Chapo to be brought to our country, but Mexico guaranteed that he’d be locked up so well that no one would see him in years, yet he escaped. I thought this was a great article. Good job!
Maggie Amador
El Chapo is undoubtedly smart, but to believe that he was the mastermind behind his escapes seems like a stretch. I believe that he may have bribed some officers to allow some things to get by as he plotted his escape. I am sure that although the government may have tried their best to keep him locked away, money can always buy freedom.
Diego Aguilera
Ive always heard about El Chapo as anything with his name because a headline. I think its so crazy the life he lives but also the money he is making! Its very interesting the loyalty that his people have towards him. I really enjoyed this article and what it had to say regarding his escape. I definitely would do more research myself to find out more about El Chapos life.
Sarah Nguyen
I liked this article due to how current it was to the twenty first century. El Chapo’s escape was highly publicized, but I never knew the whole story behind it. This article definitely shows that the whole escape was suspicious, especially if the prison was so strict, and I can see how the Mexican people and the U.S. government would lose their trust in the Mexican government after this, because it looks like this escape took months of planning, as well as help from both inside and outside the prison walls… great article!