The Untold Story Of The World's Greatest Prison Escapee

this is Puente Grande prison the most fortified prison in Mexico it's known for the large number of guards two guards for each inmate because the prison was dedicated to the most dangerous criminals in Mexico on top of them were drug gang leaders these are not ordinary criminals these are the leaders of tens of thousands of armies and followers heavily armed with all imaginable weapons so attacking the prison suddenly is always expected therefore the prison walls were doubly fortified with heavy concrete reinforced with the strongest type of Steel watchtowers heavily armed guards and checkpoints along the road to the prison the prison was like a military base this was the prison where El Chapo was imprisoned the most famous and dangerous drug lord in Mexican history and worldwide he is the Sinaloa cartel leader The Most Dangerous Drg gang in the world it was named after the Sinaloa state where they came from El Chapo had been pursued for a long time and was arrested for the first time in 1993 after a heavy chase by the Mexican authorities although El Chapo was arrested this didn't prevent him from running his Empire from inside the prison he did it through bribery he bribed every single officer and guard in prison with bribes worth millions which granted him Comfort he lived the Cane's life in prison they got him alcohol women and all the food he wanted they even used to allow his two wives and his Mistresses to visit him and with him for days moreover he had Foams to keep running his gang from inside the prison the person who facilitated El Chapo's life most inside the prison was this man damaso Lopez damaso was Deputy Chief of security at Puente Grande prison El Chapo bribed this man to the point that he became his right hand he gave him a house a car gifts and a huge salary this strengthened their relationship and they became friends so damaso was the main reason El Chapo was at a complete Comfort level inside prison to the extent that he could do whatever he wanted El Chapo during his imprisonment period was not only able to run his gang but he was also able to develop a new way for drug trafficking from inside the prison this way wasn't his creation but he and his gang made a revolution in it which is drug trafficking through tunnels El Chapo hired Engineers Architects and Specialists to dig tunnels at a professional level certainly El Chapo through this tunnel was targeting the U. S it was the most profitable place for them El Chapo and his gang Sinaloa cartel didn't need to smuggle drugs anymore neither by air sea or land they became Smugglers through underground tunnels which enabled them to raise the rate of smuggling insanely they began to make 20 million dollars per month imagine that El Chapo's Empire was expanded and grew while he was in prison more than the time he was out Mexico didn't extradite drug gang leaders like El Chapo to the U. S which was always calling for this because they were the ones most affected a huge quantity of drugs had been smuggled to the U.

S so they were always asking for El Chapo's extradition and criminals like him since U. S prisons are more fortified than Mexico's besides they would be far away from their gangs and the officers they bribed so that they would no longer have any control over their gangs but the Mexican authorities were refusing such claiming that they were able to handle their criminals this made El Chapo relieved seeing that he was doing whatever he wanted in Puente Grande prison he had never thought about a breakout however in 2001 the Mexican Supreme Court submitted a proposal to create a new law that would allow the extradition of some Mexican criminals to America El Chapo felt in danger when he first heard about the new law of Mexican criminal extradition so he immediately started planning an escape which must be carried out as soon as possible a few weeks later El Chapo had already formulated his solid plan and began to carry it out El Chapo was already aware that only a few people should be involved in the plan so he gave a huge bribe to his assistant demaso and explicitly told him that he wanted to escape damaso replied and assured him that he would help him El Chapo agreed with his friend damaso to reduce the number of guards on January 19 2001 which was the day El Chapo planned to escape of course demosa would not reduce the number of guards in the entire prison but rather in the section where El Chapo was El Chapo also bribed one of the prison workers named Chito this was one of the workers responsible for the laundry his main task was to take the dirty clothes from the inmates and put them inside a cart that he took outside the prison and placed in a van that would take it to the laundry facility Cheeto was the best choice for El Chapo because he was a normal worker out of sight he only did his usual daily tasks and none of the guards cared about him day had come on January 19 2001 Cheeto opened El Chapo's cell helped him get into the laundry cart cover him with clothes and push the cart they were able to do all of this comfortably due to the low number of guards in that section in one moment while Cheeto was pushing the cart he reached one of the prison Gates where there was a guard Cheeto stopped the cart and left it to talk with the guard and asked him to open the gate but due to El Chapo's weight the cart began to move backward on its own at that moment El Chapo was scared that the cart would hit the wall flip over and he would fall out and then they would be exposed but his friend chido quickly rushed and ran behind the cart and held it before hitting the wall he moved on his way normally to the prison parking lots where a car was waiting for them El Chapo immediately got into the trunk and they drove out of the prison by the way the car was driven by one of the brideguards for this reason when they went out of the prison exit gate no one stopped them or even searched the car they let them out immediately despite the Escape being quickly exposed the pursuit was delayed because the majority of the local police were in El Chapo's pocket they didn't make a move right away giving him the chance to go far away from the prison afterward the federal police got the news of El Chapo's escape and this police force is hard to bribe unlike the local police the federal forces began the pursuit while Lo Chapo's men were waiting for him somewhere near the prison when he reached them they changed his car and took him in an armored car to another place where a helicopter was waiting for them he got in the helicopter and they took him to another location where another armored car was waiting they moved him to four different locations so that he couldn't be tracked the last car El Chapo took was in Mexico City while they were driving in the streets El Chapo took a look around him to find out that he was surrounded by police cars and motorcycles he was so stressed and worried that he asked the driver about how they managed to track his location the driver reassured him that he had nothing to worry about because all of the police were actually there for his protection El Chapo took a deep breath and felt relieved the corrupt police were surrounding him so that the real police couldn't reach him no one would ever expect that El Chapo would be escorted by that many police cars they went alongside him until they reached one of the gang's safe houses El Chapo's breakout in 2001 had made him a legend to the point that most people began to think that he was above the law and Untouchable although the Mexican authorities devoted considerable resources to the pursuit of El Chapo they were unable to reach him and El Chapo remained free for 14 years during these years El Chapo was moving between his secret safe houses many of which were in isolated areas in the mountains during these 14 years El Chapo's empire grew insanely he used to smuggle cocaine to America worth billions of dollars annually El Chapo's gang expansion and the areas they have taken control of in Mexico have reached an unprecedented level the Sinaloa cartel had become the largest drug cartel in the world uncontested to the extent that it was considered the largest in history surpassing the medal in cartel which was Escobar's cartel reaching this level of power influence and control is impossible without violence therefore acts of violence were insane especially in the northern cities of Mexico the cities that are bordered by America because they are used in drug trafficking so it was like a war El Chapo and his gang turned these cities into war zones causing a lot of unprecedented killings and mass destruction El Chapo managed to destroy all the gangs one after the other taking over the Northern areas this made him the largest and sole Dominator of the drug trafficking movement from Mexico to America the American and Mexican authorities wanted to arrest him at any cost and for this Mission they utilized all their most powerful resources in 2014 14 years after El Chapo's Escape Mexican intelligence with the help of its American counterpart decided to pursue a new strategy which was to track down the people around El Chapo his sons wives and Close Associates because they were the ones who knew El Chapo the most thanks to their new strategy they managed to reach El Chapo's technical assistant this young man was a Colombian in his twenties the intelligence managed to convince him to work for their benefit and with his assistance they were able to hack the encrypted communication Network used by El Chapo and his gang this way they managed to identify his location and know that he was in a house in Sinaloa which is the headquarters of the gang the house is one of El Chapo's safe houses they identify the House's location and exactly on February 17 2014 the Mexican Special Forces along with DEA agents surrounded the house and stormed it the house wasn't ordinary Behind The house's main door there was another steel door the Special Forces kept beating this door trying to break it at the same time El Chapo was sleeping inside all of a sudden his assistant entered his room screaming and told him that the Mexican Army was at the door he jumped out of bed hearing the sounds of hitting on the steel door so he got up from his place and started to move the forces that were outside the house were able to see movements through Windows they saw that there were people moving inside so they intensified the beating on the door even more the windows were also fortified all the house was armored and due to the fact that the windows were small making it difficult to enter through them all their focus and efforts were on the door they kept beating the door until it was broken then they entered the house with their weapons raised ordering all the people that were inside to surrender and lie down on the ground however they were surprised when they found out that no one was inside the house they searched every single room and every corner of the house but no one was there although they saw Shadows moving inside the house when they were outside where did El Chapo go when his assistant entered the room to alert him El Chapo got up from his bed and went immediately to the bathroom not to hide but rather to escape through a tunnel El Chapo's Gang has become professional and has expertise in digging tunnels not only for drug smuggling but also for escaping all their safe houses had underground tunnels in case the house was surrounded by the police El Chapo would immediately run out of the house easily El Chapo managed to escape through a tunnel dug under the bathtub and this is a real image of the tunnel after it was discovered by the Mexican authorities the entrance of the tunnel was smartly designed so that no one would find out unless he knew about it to open the secret entrance a pin must be inserted into a small opening behind the bathroom mirror this would create an electric current that would unlock the lock holding the vafta then it must be lifted by hands the bathtub would raise easily thanks to the hydraulic arms that supported from underneath when El Chapo entered the tunnel he pulled the bathtub out and closed it behind him for this reason the storming forces took their time searching the house until discovering the secret entrance El Chapo managed to escape with his wife his assistant and his Chef through the tunnel and by the time the Special Forces found out about the tunnel entrance El Chapo and those with him had already vanished El Chapo decided to go to a normal place a place where nobody would think he would be there instead of going to one of his isolated safe houses he went to a coastal city named mezatlin it is a touristic City and no one would expect that he might be there but what El Chapo didn't know was that his communication network was hacked he fought the Mexican authorities found his safe house from where he escaped by coincidence but he didn't know that they might find him wherever he went five days after he escaped from the safe house exactly on February 22 2014 the Mexican authorities along with the American agency El Chapo's location in one of the city hotels named Miramar where they managed to surround him and arrest him easily in his room the attached image is a real picture of him at the moment of his arrest he had no protection or guards and he didn't expect they would easily identify his location because he basically didn't know how they were tracking him or that his phone was hacked after El Chapo's second arrest they took him to altaplano prison which is a Maximum Security Prison and the most fortified prison in Mexico you may be wondering why they didn't take him to this prison the first time for the simple reason that El Chapo's first arrest was in 1993. alteplano prison was just established at that time and it wasn't as fortified as it was in 2014 when El Chapo was arrested for the second time this prison was like a military base due to the abundance of guards weapons and equipment within it the outer wall is surrounded by a large number of watchtowers and each Tower is manned by three or four armed guards carrying heavy weapons although the prison walls are nets they are doubled in two layers and sometimes in three layers in certain prison areas this net fence is constructed and reinforced by heavy concrete with a full meter of thickness there were even ditches all these fortifications were to prevent any external attack as we mentioned before the imprisoned criminals had special armies so they had to be ready for any external attack they even have armored vehicles in the prison in addition to the fact that the entire prison area is a no-fly zone there are sources that say that they have anti-aircraft weapons in anticipation of any air attacks not to mention the broken communication networks in the entire prison area which means that all mobile phones wouldn't work inside the prison and the most important thing is that the officers and guards in this prison are carefully hired to prevent all sorts of bribery although the prison had the biggest criminals and gang leaders in Mexico none of them managed to escape until the arrival of El Chapo as soon as El Chapo entered the prison he began to think about an escape plan because he was afraid of being extradited to America at any moment since the mobile phones were not working inside the prison the only way he had to communicate with the outside world was through the people that were allowed to visit him in prison which were actually two people the first was his lawyer scar Lopez and the second was his third wife EMA Cornell his young wife whom he married in 2007 and she was 32 years younger than him El Chapo began coordinating with his wife so that she could convey his messages to his children and followers his four children were all leaders in his gang but after his imprisonment no one of them took the leadership of the Gang El Chapo had another man who wasn't a family member he considered him his right hand this man was damaso Lopez the deputy chief of security in Punta Grande prison and the corrupt official who allowed El Chapo to do whatever he wanted in that prison after El Chapo's Escape in 2001 demaso was blamed and considered an accomplice so he was fired and couldn't find a job as it was mentioned before damaso and El Chapo were friends which is why El Chapo asked him to join the Gang over the years damaso kept getting promoted until he became El Chapo's right hand in the gang and the leader of the gang after El Chapo's second imprisonment damaso turned from a prison security official to the leader of the world's most powerful drug cartel now El Chapo began to communicate with his right hand damaso and his children from inside the prison through his wife and started moving them so they could get him out of prison as soon as possible before his extradition to America he was really scared of this damaso and El Chapo's children started putting together a plan to get their leader out of prison since damaso was an ex-security official in one of the most fortified prisons in Mexico this gives him an advantage in planning because he knows the security system in prisons on the other side El Chapo inside the prison spent most of his time in his cell he was only allowed to go out for one hour a day there was also a GPS tracker attached to his ankle all the time his cell was under 24-hour surveillance there were cameras inside his cell and the shower was behind that small wall just to give him some privacy El Chapo knew that it was almost impossible to escape from this prison but he was persistent in doing it at any cost and since we are talking about El Chapo and his gang it is obvious that a tunnel would be included in the plan but how would they dig it and from where would it be duck beginning of the digging wouldn't be from inside the prison the tunnel must be dug outside the prison leading inside the prison this may be the first time in history we always hear about prisoners digging a tunnel to escape from prison but a prisoner and his followers digging a tunnel for him from outside the prison is almost impossible the plan's first step is to buy a piece of land or property close enough to the prison that they could dig a tunnel that leads to the prison but at the same time it shouldn't be closed in a way that attracts attention the problem was that alteplano prison was located in an isolated area and surrounded by large agricultural areas the prison was a huge facility in the middle of a vast area of agricultural land with no buildings around after a tiring search El Chapo's gang managed to find an empty construction site about a kilometer and a half from the prison it was most likely used by Farmers it was like an uncompleted building the gang bought this land and registered it in the name of a person who was not suspicious the land became theirs and they now had a starting point from which they could begin digging but it's not that simple how would they know El Chapo's cell exactly besides the cell is under heavy surveillance and even if they manage to dig the tunnel and reach the cell how would they get him out without being exposed the only blind spot is that small shower behind the small wall therefore the only place where the tunnel exit should be is that little shower Square about how how could they dig an underground tunnel from outside the prison with almost a kilometer and a half in length without seeing anything and open and opening specifically in that small place the plan seems impossible reaching the cell itself is a great achievement let alone reaching that particular small spot to solve this problem El Chapo got a brilliant idea that would help his men identify his cell location and exactly that small space behind the wall the idea was inspired by the GPS tracker that was on his ankle the idea was simply to smuggle a GPS to him which he would put in that shower space so the men digging the tunnel could easily identify the exact location the idea was perfect but the problem was smuggling the GPS device Alta Plano was the most fortified prison in Mexico and smuggling anything inside the prison was almost impossible there were many checkpoints inside and outside the prison that must be crossed without being exposed and they wouldn't allow the passage of any tool that might be used to escape or as a weapon El Chapo got another smart idea he asked his wife to tell the gang to insert the small GPS device in a watch this way it could cross all the checkpoints normally his wife managed to smuggle the watch to him easily no one suspected her it was just a normal watch that wouldn't pose any danger or rather that's what the guards thought through that watch and the GPS device El Chapo's men managed to identify the exact location of that particular spot behind that small Wall El Chapo's men had already started the digging process towards the prison but when they got the exact location they knew how to point the digging 100 percent in the right direction as we mentioned before they were experts in digging tunnels so the tunnel they dug was astonishing and professional engineering work at all levels the entrance to the tunnel began at the building by taking a look at the tunnel opening you can see a colossal number of wooden supports then once you enter the 10 meter deep tunnel you will realize that the tunnel wasn't just an ordinary Escape tunnel it was meticulously built and undoubtedly the best escape tunnel ever built in prison breakout history such a tunnel required a lot of workers there were most likely 10 to 12 people working non-stop on that tunnel first they needed a ventilation system so they laid ventilation pipes along the kilometer they dug and an air pumping machine was at the entrance of the tunnel they also needed lighting they hung thousands of light bulbs along the tunnel and an electricity generator was also at the entrance of the tunnel it was hidden and they made it look like a cement grilling table they had hidden everything nothing was exposed or visible from outside the brick building this was necessary in case the security or guard suddenly searched they wouldn't discover what was happening below unless they conducted a thorough inspection this was crucial because they were located somewhat close to the prison the scale of this operation was insane thousands of meters of ventilation pipes thousands of lamps and tons of sand were extracted from underground they took them out and disposed of them without being exposed especially since they were a kilometer and a half away from the prison and the ground was flat and empty so it is strange that none of the guards especially those on the watchtowers had noticed them this proves that El Chapo's gang meticulously planned for this operation and had taken all their precautions moreover inside the tunnel they had also made a railroad on which they placed a customized excavation cart that seemed like it was integrated with a motorcycle by which they were intending to transport the sand and later on to help their leader Escape throughout the digging process El Chapo was nervous and anxious he was afraid of his extradition to America for this reason he was always sending letters to his men asking about why the process was taking so long and they were always replying that the matter wasn't that simple it required planning and effort and they should be meticulous in what they were doing finally in June 2015 El Chapo received news from his men that the tunnel was almost ready El Chapo chose the 4th of July 2015 as the day of his Escape why the 4th of July because he wanted to insult America July 4th is a national day in America it is the anniversary of Independence Day it was a big day for the Americans by this act he intended to send an insulting message to them he wanted to tell them that he managed to escape on the day of their Joy El Chapo had a huge hatred for America although all his money was from there he knew how badly they wanted him and he knew that the American authorities were always asking the Mexican authorities for his extradition unfortunately his men didn't manage to make it the tunnel still needed work so they were forced to postpone the operation to a week later finally the big day had come the day of El Chapo's escape on July 11 2015 the day on which El Chapo would break out of the prison where he spent almost 16 months this video footage is from the surveillance cameras that were in his cell on that night El Chapo was watching a comedy series on his small tablet with the volume up attempting to conceal the sounds that his men were making while trying to open the hole each time he got up from his place and walked around the room waiting for a signal from his men at 8 10 El Chapo sat on the edge of his bed put his shoes on and went to the shower space the only hidden place from the surveillance cameras in the whole cell since that time El Chapo has vanished El Chapo entered the opening and went down through a ladder to the underground tunnel where he met with his wife's brother who pointed him to the cart and asked him to get on it El Chapo got on the card and drove it as fast as possible along the tunnel when he reached the other side of the tunnel he went up to the brick building where a quad bike was waiting for him he rode it with one of his men and went on the other side the guards in the prison took 40 minutes to discover the Escape they noticed on the surveillance cameras that El Chapo wasn't in his cell they went immediately to check on him at first they thought that he might be hiding behind that shower wall but they were shocked when they found the opening of the tunnel the sirens immediately blared declaring a state of alert but it was too late by that time El Chapo had already traveled a long distance he then arrived at a big truck got into the truck trailer and his men tightly closed it so as not to be seen then the truck drove for approximately two hours until it arrived at a town named San Juan which is located in an area called coratero El Chapo then got on a private jet whose pilot was one of the most trusted by El Chapo in his whole gang this time El Chapo took all necessary precautions not leaving anything to chance there were two Jets the first would take El Chapo to his destination and the second would fly to mislead everyone that might be pursuing him El Chapo decided to go hide in one of his safe houses it was like a castle that is located in the mountains in Sinaloa it was the most fortified and safest place for El Chapo which they used to call the sky El Chapo's Escape caused Great embarrassment to the Mexican authorities because just a year ago they boasted of his arrest in front of the world considering it the greatest achievement in the war against drugs and crime the Mexican authorities have harnessed a large part of their forces and resources to hunt down El Chapo at any cost if only El Chapo had kept hiding in his secret houses in the mountains it would have been difficult for the authorities to track him but El Chapo kept moving from one city to another visiting his gang headquarters meeting his followers and giving them orders this was very important to maintain his control and Leadership over the gang but it put him in danger and made his tracking easier especially since the Mexican authorities were supported by the Americans they fully cooperated in El Chapo's case the American authorities provided the Mexicans with all sorts of newly developed Technologies for tracking and monitoring the Mexican intelligence with the help of the Americans managed to locate a house in Los moches which is a city in the north of Sinaloa state in this house the intelligence team noticed that there was a movement by El Chapo's gang they started eavesdropping on them and noticed that they used the nickname Grandma to refer to a specific person for example they say Grand mud is coming prepare yourself for Grandma it clear that they met a particular person by this nickname that seemed important and the intelligence team suspected that it might be El Chapo himself indeed the next day a convoy of three cars arrived so it was clear that this Convoy was for an important person the first time the cars arrived they entered the garage directly and the agents who were monitoring the place could not identify the person who was inside the car so the Mexican intelligence kept eavesdropping on their calls and monitoring the house for a period during which they became almost sure that El Chapo was inside the house this was confirmed after hearing his voice or what appeared to be his voice through eavesdropping on their calls besides the fact that such preparations and protection wouldn't be for someone else but El Chapo on the morning of January 8 2016 six months after El Chapo's escape the Mexican forces decided to Storm the House a group of Special Forces surrounded the place backed by DEA agents and stormed the house then a bloody armed conflict occurred between them and El Chapo's followers it was violent and all its victims were among the Gang as for the Special Forces some of them were injured but nobody died because of their meticulous and well-prepared attack after the fight had ended they didn't find El Chapo he escaped for the second time through an underground tunnel this mirror was a secret door that led to the underground tunnel El Chapo escaped through the tunnel while his followers were fighting against the Special Forces he escaped with one of his close assistants when they came out of the tunnel they stole a car that was passing on the street the security forces weren't only surrounding the house they were spread out in the whole area when they received the news of El Chapo's Escape patrols started roaming the area right away about 20 kilometers away from the house at one of the checkpoints four federal police officers managed to arrest El Chapo and his assistant El Chapo right away attempted to bribe them but unfortunately for him they weren't corrupt officers and they refused his bride this prompted him to get angry and start acting insanely he began to insult and threaten them however the officers disregarded his threats took a picture of him and sent it to their commander who told them that special forces were on their way to them and warned them that El Chapo's men and Associates were preparing for an attack by mobilizing all their forces to rescue their leader he also ordered them to take shelter in a nearby motel and get prepared for any sudden potential attack from El Chapo's gang the four officers and El Chapo took one of the motel rooms where they waited and monitored the situation after a short while they began to hear the sounds of cars approaching from a distance as if it were a large procession moving slowly towards them at that moment El Chapo smirk maliciously and said to the police now you probably wish you had accepted my offer however his smile quickly turned into a look of shock and despair as the procession of cars arrived and he realized that those were not his men but a massive number of soldiers from the Army and Special Forces they had surrounded the hotel and quickly secured all entrances and exits El Chapo's men were taken aback they couldn't even contemplate getting closer to the hotel once they saw the heavy presence of security forces in the area El Chapo was arrested for the third time and sent to altaplano prison again the prison from which he escaped the last time but this time El Chapo was under heavy surveillance nevertheless imagine that he began to look for another way out and started to plan for an escape operation he sent messages to his gang asking them to do it again According to some of El Chapo's gang members they had really started working on a new Escape operation and what made it weird was that they were planning to do it the same way the Mexican authorities were already working on his extradition procedures to America they had come to believe that this was the only solution El Chapo escaped from Puente Grande in 2001.

had remained a fugitive for 14 years he also escaped through a tunnel beneath the bathtub when they surrounded him in one of his safe houses he also escaped from altaplano prison the most fortified prison in Mexico and escaped for the fourth time through the tunnel behind the mirror in another Safe House how long will they keep chasing him if he stays in Mexico he will surely find a way to escape because all of his men and followers are around him but in the U. S he would no longer be able to do anything for this reason the court was Expediting his extradition procedures imagine that the judge who was working on his extradition file had been assassinated in October 2016. El Chapo's extradition to America had been postponed to a year later but eventually one day in January 2017 El Chapo was surprised when the guards and soldiers entered his cell tie him up and took him to a helicopter that was in the prison yard he was then taken to a special plane and he hadn't realized what was going on yet the plane landed in New York and El Chapo got off the plane trying to comprehend what was happening he was confused looking around to the right and left El Chapo asked one of the DEA agents where am I the agent replied you are in New York and this is a picture of the most powerful drug gang leader in history with tears in his eyes his a historical scene El Chapo was tried in the U.