New Footage Shows El Chapo Just Moments Before His Escape From Prison
By Sean Levinson
Surveillance footage showing the moment Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán disappeared from his prison cell has been released.
Guzmán, better known as "El Chapo," escaped from the Altiplano Federal Penitentiary in Almoloya de Juárez, Mexico last Saturday. He reportedly escaped through a 20-inch hatch in his cell and then traveled through a mile-long tunnel where he had oxygen tanks, lights and even a motorcycle on tracks.
The video begins with Guzmán studying the hatch, located in the shower area of his cell, and then walking back and forth several times.
At about 30 seconds in, Guzmán ducks into the hatch, returns to his bed and changes his shoes, according to CNN.
He then ducks into the hatch again and in an instant, slips out of view.
Guzmán's cell was being videotaped 24 hours a day, Mexican Interior Minister Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong said, although the cameras did not reach as far as Guzmán's bathroom area.
The multi-billionaire also wore a bracelet that tracked his movements, but Guzmán was somehow able to remove it before entering his tunnel.
Mexican officials believe the escape likely wouldn't have been possible without the help of prison workers who kept their knowledge of the tunnel's construction secret.
Three Mexican prison officials, including the director of the Mexican prison system and the boss of the Altiplano facility, have been fired while an additional 49 people, many of whom are prison workers, are being questioned.
Citations: Video shows moment of El Chapos escape from Mexican prison (CNN)