El Chapo's Absurd Prison Break

In a well-lit tunnel beneath the Mexican countryside, men freeze in place with pickaxes and shovels at the ready. Thirty feet below the prison's main yard, there is little chance of being discovered, but they can't take any chances especially since they are so close to their goal: the prison cell of Mexico's most infamous drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. They can hear the vibrations of a vehicle above them and are wary of making any noise that might give them away, holding their work as the prison patrol passes by overhead. They have been tunneling through solid rock for months using just pickaxes and shovels, advancing as quickly as they can while exercising extreme caution given their limited resources.

They could employ jackhammers and boring machines, which would make the job go considerably more quickly, but not only would it make noise that would give them away, it would also bring a lot of attention to their staging spot, which is just a mile from the prison's perimeter. In order to conceal their true objectives, El Chapo's strong drug gang first bought a modest plot of land adjacent to the prison and started constructing two small residences there before they started digging tunnels. However, the houses were never built past a crude brick shell since it was obvious they would never be inhabited. Instead, they served as the cover needed to begin work on the tunnel that would liberate El Chapo.

But because of his history of dodging arrest and escape from prison, Mexican officials put enormous pressure on the tunnel team to finish as soon as possible. might at any point move El Chapo to another facility to thwart any potential breakout efforts. Every day the tunnelers spent traveling to their employer was an additional day the entire endeavor may have been in vain, necessitating a fresh escape attempt in a totally different place to be created. But that wasn't all; inquisitive people and local officials alike started to pay attention to the incomplete structures, wondering why someone would start constructing on an empty plot of land and then abruptly cease with only the foundation of a house constructed.

Time was short, and the stakes were rising El Chapo was the ideal prisoner in his cell. El Chapo has a lengthy history of ordering some of the most horrifying acts of violence that Mexico has ever seen, but he always maintained a friendly and even charming demeanor with the staff and other prisoners. Not a single sign of the ongoing scheme was ever disclosed, despite the fact that prison personnel diligently monitored his phone chats and his correspondence. By this point, El Chapo was a genuine professional and patient—but his patience was becoming thin. The tunnel builders understood they had a difficult task ahead of them and needed to proceed quickly.

Despite the immense strain they were under, they not only made it to El Chapo before any prospective jail transfers, but they also succeeded in getting into his cell barely sixteen months after he had been imprisoned. They built a clever tunnel that impressed officials, who subsequently remarked that a tunnel of that size should have taken between 18 months and two years to build. Wooden paneling was used to support the walls when necessary, and a generator provided fresh air. To keep the tunnel oxygenated, a mile-long ventilation system is used.

When El Chapo arrived, he would ride the same motorbike and rapidly shuttle the mile distance to freedom. On the ground, the tunnelers had installed rails and used a motorcycle to shuttle two carts that were packed with dirt back and forth down the shaft. But since all that dirt had to go someplace, the tunnelers ingeniously moved it to the tunnel mouth so that other people could spread it out throughout the area on the outside. instead of piling it high, which would undoubtedly attract attention. Even still, the fresh soil covering acres of barren fields was bound to ultimately attract attention and inquiries that the fictitious construction workers above ground would find difficult to address.

On July 12, 2015, in the middle of the night, El Chapo's cell's shower suddenly started to make a scratching sound. Soon after, the shower's porcelain floor cracked open, revealing a smiling face. drug lord in prison beckoned him towards the depths below. El Chapo wasted no time and snuck into the hidden tunnel, descending thirty feet into a tunnel that was only as broad as a man but only tall enough for El Chapo to stand. The tunnel builders made sure that the tunnel was exactly tall enough so that the boss wouldn't have to lean over as he went through it—a elegant jail escape if we ever saw one because he was frequently mocked by his opponents for his diminutive stature.

El Chapo got on a little motorbike that was mounted on metal rails a few feet inside the tunnel's entrance. El Chapo was riding through the well-lit tunnel like a child on an amusement park ride just a few seconds after leaving his cell. The dirt carts that it had been pushing along for months were no longer there. El Chapo completed his joyride two minutes later by ascending some wooden steps and emerging into the abandoned house where his team had been operating covertly for the previous 18 months. El Chapo changed into clean clothing, got onto a vehicle, and was driven away into the night, leaving a fantastic mile-long hidden tunnel and other evidence behind.

Just months after his escape, El Chapo would be apprehended once more when his newest safe house was exposed weeks before his arrival by negligent gunmen who were seen by residents. Mexican authorities reportedly heard about highly armed individuals, so they put the residence under observation. and eavesdropped on conversations announcing the arrival of "grandma" or "aunt". Officials waited for their opportunity to attack after realizing this had to be a valuable target. Several bodyguards were slain during a raid by Mexican special forces soldiers a month later, but El Chapo and one of his most senior lieutenants managed to escape using—you guessed it—a hidden tunnel. At gunpoint, the two stole a car after showing up a mile from the house, but the driver promptly reported it.

Officers from the Federal Police located the stolen automobile after issuing a search warrant for it and apprehended the two fugitives. But El Chapo wouldn't go without at least making an attempt to purchase his release. El Chapo paid the police officers by promising them cash, houses, and even lucrative professions in exchange for letting him go since he was aware of how readily corruptible public officials had been in the past. The desperate kingpin had no idea that he was dealing with a new breed of Mexican policeman, one who was less susceptible to corruption than his forebears.

El Chapo's offers of honey turned into vinegar after the four police officers turned him down, warning them that they were both going to die. The four cops were cautioned by their superiors after sending them images of El Chapo 40 highly armed assassins were on their way to liberate El Chapo, according to a tip the authorities had received. The officers were sent to a nearby hotel outside of town since friendly forces were still confined inside the complex. There, they took refuge in an unoccupied room and made preparations. for a potential gun battle to save their lives. El Chapo laughed throughout, repeating his earlier threats. A procession of automobiles suddenly lighted up the road outside, apparently going to the desolate Armed with M-16 assault weapons and handguns, the policemen got ready for what was undoubtedly their final stand. El Chapo made fun of them, warning them that their families would follow them in going to their deaths. But the policemen remained firm, prepared to sacrifice their lives if necessary in the line of duty.

El Chapo's jeers, however, died in his throat as the cars started to turn into the parking lot; as the headlights' brightness faded, the besieged cops could see military trucks. Mexican marines in vehicles, hurrying to set up defenses around the hotel. A few minutes later, El Chapo was put into an SUV and hurried to an airstrip while appearing utterly defeated and depressed. El Chapo would not escape from a Mexican prison once more, and two years later, all chance of an escape would be eliminated when Mexico granted the United States' request for extradition. Though he may have been one of the deadliest men in Mexican history, El Chapo will spend the rest of his life in jail and will only be known as a crying mess who asked US justice authorities for mercy, which they refused to provide.

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