MEXICO-GUZMAN/TUNNEL Video of escape tunnel used by drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman

Record ID: 147025

  • Title: MEXICO-GUZMAN/TUNNEL Video of escape tunnel used by drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman
  • Date: 15th July 2015
  • Summary: ALMOLOYA DE JUAREZ, MEXICO (JULY 14, 2015) (REUTERS) POLICE OFFICIAL OPENING DOOR OF BUILDING WHERE TUNNEL IS LOCATED, AS SEEN THROUGH POLICE TAPE OFFICIAL GOING INTO TUNNEL IN INTERIOR OF BUILDING WITH BUCKETS, WHEELBARROW, SAND AND WOODEN BOARDS MOUTH OF TUNNEL PULLEY SYSTEM STAIRS GOING DOWN TUNNEL VARIOUS OF PULLEY SYSTEM BOARDS ELECTRICAL WIRING STACKED PAILS AND INSU
  • Embargoed: 30th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4OZ2DXHBS6EXKB03UNWPWN3KR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: This building houses the tunnel used by the world's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, to carry out a brazen jailbreak on Sunday (July 12).
    Guzman sparked a massive manhunt after escaping from Altiplano prison on Saturday (July 11) night in a mile-long (1.5 km) underground tunnel that led from a shower into this deserted building, dealing a bitter blow for President Enrique Pena Nieto.
    The tunnel was a complex, well-hidden route that came up exactly under the shower in Guzman's cell.
    It was air conditioned and allowed enough room for a quick exit.
    During the escape, Guzman disposed of a bracelet that only he and a few other high-risk inmates had to wear, and smashed bulbs lighting up the tunnel as he fled, authorities have said.
    Authorities believe there may have been a motorcycle waiting for his escape.
    The mile-long tunnel would have required noisy digging equipment and produced tons of dirt for disposal.
    The construction may have been concealed by a nearby waterway expansion project which begun about a year ago near the prison. An open ditch with three reinforced tubes 2.5 metres wide snaked around the prison, would provide the perfect cover for the construction of an escape tunnel.
    According to Jose Reveles, a drugs and organised crime expert who penned the acclaimed book on Guzman's 2014 capture, "El Chapo: Delivery and Betrayal," the kingpin's Sinaloa Cartel has a lot of experience constructing drug tunnels along Mexico's border with the United States.
    Guzman's home turf is Sinaloa, Mexico's drug-producing heartland amidst villagers nestled amid jagged mountains and the mighty Badiraguato Sierra, from where he has smuggled billions of dollars worth of illicit drugs north to the United States.
    Mexico has announced a reward of 60 million pesos ($3.82 million) for information leading to Guzman's capture. Interior Minister Osorio Chong also reported security forces would redouble their efforts against the Sinaloa cartel and spare no expense to recapture Guzman, adding that the United States has expressed its willingness to cooperate in arresting Guzman.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register