Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' escapes from prison (again)

[jct74]

Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' escapes from prison (again)

Bart Jansen and Greg Toppo
July 12, 2015

A notorious Mexican drug kingpin who escaped once before from prison and spent more than a decade on the lam has done it again.

This time, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman disappeared down a hole near his cell and walked nearly a mile underground to freedom, triggering a massive manhunt Sunday.

Guzman wielded so much power as head of the Sinaloa drug cartel that the Chicago Crime Commission called him Public Enemy No. 1, a label applied to gangster Al Capone in 1930.

Guzman, 56, escaped late Saturday from Mexico's Altiplano maximum-security prison through a specially built, lighted and ventilated tunnel that ended in a half-built house in a rural farm field near the prison.

The elaborate escape route, built allegedly without the detection of authorities, allowed Guzman to do what Mexican officials promised would never happen again: slip out of one of the country's most secure penitentiaries.

"This represents without a doubt an affront to the Mexican state," President Enrique Peña Nieto said Sunday during a previously scheduled trip to France. "But I also have confidence in the institutions of the Mexican state … that they have the strength and determination to recapture this criminal."

...

read more:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...hapo/30043579/

[Ronin Truth]

I wonder what the price of that "escape" was?

[Free Radical]

As someone who spent time in Mexico in exile, viva Los Zetas.

Sinaloa is thoroughly infiltrated by the American regime.

[Suzanimal]

Guzman wielded so much power as head of the Sinaloa drug cartel that the Chicago Crime Commission called him Public Enemy No. 1, a label applied to gangster Al Capone in 1930.

Coincidence? I think not.

U.S. Government and Top Mexican Drug Cartel Exposed as Partners

For over a decade, under multiple administrations, the U.S. government had a secret agreement with the ruthless Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel that allowed it to operate with impunity, an in-depth investigation by a leading Mexican newspaper confirmed this week. In exchange for information and assistance in quashing competing criminal syndicates, the Bush and Obama administrations let the Sinaloa cartel import tons of drugs into the United States while wiping out Sinaloa competitors and ensuring that its leaders would not be prosecuted for their long list of major crimes. Other revelations also point strongly to massive but clandestine U.S. government involvement in drug trafficking.

...

http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-...ed-as-partners

[tod evans]

Now here's a masterful piece of propaganda....

Myself I'm pretty ambivalent over this guys escape......



Dismay in US over Guzman's escape from Mexican prison

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/07/13...cmp=latestnews

Reactions in the United States to the escape from Mexican prison of a reputed drug lord ranged from disbelief to outrage, with some observers saying it dramatically illustrated the need for captured cartel kingpins to be promptly extradited to the U.S.

A former administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency said he was dismayed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's weekend escape — apparently through a mile-long tunnel — from the Altiplano prison, 55 miles west of Mexico City.

"It is a shock that the most dangerous cartel leader in the world has escaped," Peter Bensinger said Sunday. "He ought to have been housed in an American prison."

Washington's official response was diplomatic, as Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement Sunday that the U.S. shared "Mexico's concern regarding the escape" and stood by to help in the manhunt.

But one Mexico expert said American officials likely expressed more frustration behind the scenes.

"I think this will add to the distrust many U.S. agencies feel (toward the Mexican government) — even if that's not publicly voiced," said David Shirk, San Diego-based fellow for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

At least some observers said they weren't surprised by Guzman's escape given Mexican prisons' reputation, including Gal Pissetzky, a defense attorney who has represented suspected drug trafficker in U.S. courts nationwide.

"I'm surprised he stayed locked up in there as long as he did," Pissetzky said.

The Chicago Crime Commission, an influential crime-fighting group in Illinois, said Sunday that the prison break meant Guzman will regain his title as Public Enemy No. 1 in Chicago, where his Sinaloa cartel has long dominated the cocaine and heroin trade.

When the group attached the Public Enemy label to Guzman a year before his capture, it was the first time it had been used since it was applied in 1930 to Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone. The Chicago Crime Commission planned to formally restore the title to Guzman this week, said John Pastuovic, a spokesman for the non-governmental body.

Several U.S. attorneys' offices have indicted Guzman on trafficking charges, including in Chicago, where several Guzman lieutenants were successfully extradited, prosecuted and imprisoned. The U.S. had said after Guzman's 2014 capture that it would file an extradition request, though it's unclear if that already happened.

For its part, Mexico's government at the time denied the need to extradite Guzman even as many expressed fears he would inevitably escape. He had escaped before, in 2001, while serving a 20-year sentence in another maximum-security prison in Mexico.

That air of self-confidence among Mexican authorities will be harder to maintain if and when Mexico recaptures Guzman or nabs some other cartel leader, Shirk said.

"The calls for extradition (to the U.S.) will be more intense" in the wake of Guzman's escape, he said. "It'll be more difficult for the Mexican government to say, 'No, no. We have this under control.'"

Added Shirk, "It is clear that maximum security prisons in Mexico are anything but."

[tod evans]

From Drudge;


'There's no jail for such a big midget': Mexico's billion-dollar drugs lord taunts the world and threatens Donald Trump after his dramatic escape from max-security prison in tunnel dug under shower block

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ck-tunnel.html

Mexico's billion dollar drugs lord known as 'El Chapo' has gloated on Twitter about his escape from a maximum security jail by taunting authorities and threatening US-presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
Joaquin Guzman, billionaire head of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, made his jail break on Saturday morning and is on the run from Altiplano jail, 50 miles outside of Mexico City, security officials said.
His audacious escape saw him dash through the mile-long tunnel system, which led to a building under construction next to the prison - from where he collected clothes left for him by his conspirators.
But following his escape he has took to Twitter and used it to hit back at Trump, who has said that the Guzman embodies 'everything that is wrong with Mexico' and added he would 'kick his ass'.
On the account, administered by Guzman's son Ivan, the escapee reportedly wrote: 'If you keep p****** me off I'm going to make you eat your words you f****** blonde milk-s*****'.
He also took aim at the Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto saying: ''And you @EPN, don't call me a delinquent because I give people work unlike you you cowardly politician.'
The drugs lord's account became particularly active yesterday, when many believe it was Guzman himself sending messages of victory and threatening his enemies with gruesome death.
He also posted: 'Never say never, this world keeps turning. In this life, he who risks nothing cannot win'.
He followed up with 'There's no jail for such a big midget' as El Chapo means midget in Spanish as Guzman measures only five foot six inches tall.
He also started calling death threats on those who have supposedly betrayed him, including El Chabelo, the current incarcerated boss of Sinaloa's rival cartel the Zetas.
Guzman wrote: 'First to die is El Chabelo, for wanting to see me die in prison.'
He then hinted that the authorities had been complicit in the jailbreak by posting: 'The dog (slang for the Mexican government) dances for money, and I've bought it.'
During his last escape, Guzman hired the help of the prison guards during his first successful escape from maximum security prison, in which he was hidden inside a laundry basket.
The drugs lord made his latest escape on Saturday through a sophisticated tunnel contained air vents, electric lights, emergency oxygen tanks - and even a motorbike on rails to speed his escape, according to Mexico's National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido.
The kingpin exited the tunnel where it ended at an abandoned property near the local town, Rubido told a news conference on Sunday.
The escape comes after Guzman's son, Ivan also hinted about his father's plans for a daring escape from online earlier this month.
He put up a post on the social network saying 'good things come to those who wait'.
Earlier still, on May 8, the Sinaloa Cartel heir published an emotional pledge to his followers.
He posted: 'I won't lie, I have cried but I bring armed men and I promise that soon the General will be back'.

More at link......

[Valli6]

On the account, administered by Guzman's son Ivan, the escapee reportedly wrote: 'If you keep p****** me off I'm going to make you eat your words you f****** blonde milk-s*****'.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ck-tunnel.html

You know Trump is gonna have to respond. Trump vs "el chapo" twitter fight?
I can't wait to see how the mainstream media covers this! I don't think they can ignore it, considering they've made Trump such a priority.

[heavenlyboy34]

The good thing about Trump is that he's making it even more obvious than usual that politics is a farce.

[Occam's Banana]

The good thing about Trump is that he's making it even more obvious than usual that politics is a farce.

"He's the president America deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight ..."

[Zippyjuan]

Better stay out of Chicago. He joins Al Capone as Chicago Public Enemy #1 (he was also given that title in 2013).
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.2291610

Mexican drug lord El Chapo named Chicago's Public Enemy No. 1

Chicago’s top enemy is a Mexican drug lord who escaped from prison 2,000 miles away.

The Chicago Crime Commission will formally name Joaquin (El Chapo) Guzman the city’s Public Enemy No. 1 Tuesday, days after the kingpin slipped out of his maximum-security prison cell in Almoloya de Juarez, Mexico.

The non-governmental watchdog group first gave Guzman the title in 2013 — a move highlighting how his Sinaloa cartel dominates Chicago's drugs trade — but took it back in 2014 when he was captured.

MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL BUILT ELABORATE TUNNEL TO FREE EL CHAPO

Only one other criminal has even been declared Chicago’s Public Enemy No. 1: gangster Al Capone.

The mob boss was put on the list in 1930 for the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in Lincoln Park a year earlier. Capone’s South Side Italian gang battled with its rival North Side Irish gang, killing five Irish gangsters and two of the group’s associates, during the 1929 holiday gun rampage.

The only other person to hold Chicago's top enemy title was mobster Al Capone in the 1930s.
Capone was later captured, convicted and imprisoned. Chicago went decades without another Public Enemy No. 1 — until Guzman.

“The Commission first designated the title to Al Capone in 1930, and up until now had yet to witness a criminal worthy of the same moniker,” the group wrote on its website in 2013. “El Chapo has easily surpassed the carnage and social destruction that was caused by Capone.”

Chicago is a key transit hub for Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel and the city plays a significant role in the ring’s U.S.-wide distribution.

The cartel, known for its underground tunnels used to smuggle drugs from Mexico into the U.S., funneled between 1,500 and 2,000 kilograms of cocaine through Chicago per month in 2013.

Maybe they should change his nickname to "MoleMan" for his digging prowess.

[specsaregood]

Better stay out of Chicago.

Well why would anybody choose to go there anyways? Guy is probably in Malibu or Palos Verdes by now enjoying the sunshine.

[juleswin]

You would think that at some point he would just lay low and spend his money. His net worth is in the billion. Take time off and enjoy your money before you find yourself in prison or even worse, a bullet to the head.

[Leaning Libertarian]

I would personally suspect him to be laying low at one of the Army Commanding General's housing on the former Presidio of San Francisco. They refuse to enforce immigration laws, and the Presidio housing overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge, with spectacular Bay views.

[timosman]

[Spikender]

Well, at least he had a less $#@!ty escape than Tim Robins from Shawshank.

[erowe1]

"This represents without a doubt an affront to the Mexican state"

The silver lining.

[Occam's Banana]

Teh Donald can rest easy - his arch-nemesis has been caught and is back in custody of the Mexican federales (for now ...)

"Mission accomplished": Mexican President says "El Chapo" caught
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/08/americ...ptured-mexico/
CNN (08 January 2016)

Mexican forces escorted notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman out of an armored vehicle and into a helicopter late Friday night following his arrest after months on the run.

Mexican security forces trying to capture notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in Sinaloa encountered heavy gunfire that led to the deaths of various suspects, the attorney general said.

The people linked to the July escape of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman included two pilots, one of his attorneys and a brother-in-law, the attorney general said. Guzman was arrested Friday.

Mexican authorities snared drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in a bloody raid Friday, recapturing one of the world's most notorious and slippery criminals.

"Mission Accomplished," President Enrique Peña Nieto announced via Twitter. "We have him."

[... continued at link: http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/08/americ...ptured-mexico/ ...]

[timosman]

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/201...prison-escape/






https://twitter.com/JohnLeFevre/stat...77599351009281

[brushfire]

Hmmm... Mexico may have crappier prisons, but at least their CCTV works reliably.