Produced by Jacquie Lee and Quincey Tickner
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is still on the run from Mexican officials after escaping a high security prison earlier this week. El Chapo escaped from Altiplano Prison on Saturday night through a two-by-two foot hole underneath the shower in his cell. A tunnel led to a nearby construction site, where El Chapo is thought to have fled from via motorcycle, according to Mexican officials.
This escape is not El Chapo’s first. He escaped from a different Mexican prison in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart. He was arrested again ten years later. This second escape shed light on the Mexican government, which has been accused of corruption and incompetency when it comes to handling prisoners.
In 2014, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto used his successful arrest of El Chapo as an example of his government’s effectiveness “to guarantee the safety and the execution of laws in our territory so we can achieve a Mexico at peace,” he said.
But now, Pena is receiving harsh criticism from both the media and Mexican citizens for El Chapo’s second escape. He released a statement from France on Sunday assuring the public that El Chapo would be in police custody soon.
“I trust that the Mexican Institutions in charge, specifically those in charge of public security, have the strength and determination to re-apprehend this criminal,” he said.
Officials have offered a reward of $3.8 million for “useful, true, and timely information” that could lead to the capture of El Chapo, Mexican Attorney General, Arely Gomez said at a press conference Tuesday.
(Photo credit: Aristegui Noticias/Xinhua)
Video courtsey of:
Agence France-Presse
Guerra de Narco
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