A newly released surveillance video provided by the Mexican government shows the moment Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman escaped from his Mexican jail cell. It shows the drug kingpin pacing before he disappears from view behind a wall. That’s where he climbed into a tunnel, reports CBS News’ Omar Villafranca.
The sophisticated passageway was outfitted with electricity and ventilation pipes — it even included a motorcycle, which likely ushered the Sinoloa cartel head through the mile-long corridor.
Authorities said Guzman went to the shower Saturday night and escaped through a two-by-two foot opening in the floor, using a ladder to climb down into an elaborate 5 foot-tall tunnel, built 30 feet underground, that led to a construction site, about a mile south of the prison.
Mexican authorities are on the hunt for “El Chapo,” but U.S. law enforcement agencies are equally eager to capture Guzman. Two-thousand miles away, the Chicago crime commission weighed in on the investigation’s progress.
“The reason we are here is to voice our extreme displeasure at the Mexican authorities that allowed for the escape of one of the most dangerous criminals in the world,” the commission’s executive director Joseph Ways said.
The most wanted man in Mexico is now public enemy number one in Chicago, responsible for waves of drug related violence, the city said.
“That’s why we have used the label as Public Enemy No. 1. He still remains culpable and he’s prosecutable and we want to see that happen as soon as possible,” Chicago Crime Commission’s Jeff Johnson said.
But not everyone views Guzman as a monster. People from his hometown celebrated his release.
“We’re glad,” one woman said. “In a way, the work and jobs generated by El Chapo benefit us.”
“There’s a romanticism with the drug culture in Mexico,” said Joe Baeza, and investigator for the Laredo Police Department in Texas.
“Some people see them as trusted leaders of the community… They’re not Robin Hood, because Robin Hood wouldn’t behead you and make an example of you and go after your family,” Baeza added.
The U.S. has offered to help Mexican authorities apprehend Guzman, with reports of Americans offering anything from drones to a special task force. But as of right now, the Mexican government hasn’t taken them up on that offer.
Source: CBC News/++
