5 developments in the saga of El Chapo's escape


Notorious drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman escaped from a Mexican jail on July 11, through an elaborate mile-long tunnel beneath the shower in his cell. It was the second time Guzman escaped from a maximum-security prison and the story is still unfolding.

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Here are some of the lastest reports about the escape and search of "El Chapo":

  • 18 MINUTES: It took guards 18 minutes from the time they lost sight of Guzman until they arrived at his cell, Mexico's Interior minister said Thursday.  Seven Mexican prison officials have been charged in the escape. They're being held in a federal detention center. About three dozen people were being questioned, in all, and more charges were possible.
  • NOBODY FIRED: No high-ranking official has been fired in connection with the escape. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said Friday, "We are not going to solve this issue by getting angry, and filling ourselves with rage… The only way to answer this insult without doubt is by recapturing this criminal."
  • DEAD SPARROW: El Chapo may have used a tiny sparrow to test the air in the tunnel, The New York Times reported. According to the report, investigators found the body of a small bird in the trash can of El Chapo's cell. The report says officials are calling the bird "Chapito." It's not clear how the bird died. Did El Chapo use it, then kill it and leave it in the trash?
  • BODY DOUBLE? Filmmaker Charlie Minn made a documentary after Guzman was arrested on Feb. 22, 2014, asking if perhaps the man who was arrested was a body double.  That may sound crazy to you but it doesn't to a lot of other people. A Los Angeles Times story after the arrest reported that more than 40 percent of Mexicans questioned did not believe the man arrested was guzman.
  • FOLK HERO? In Sinaloa, where Guzman was born, and in some other parts of Mexico, Guzman is a sort of folk hero, The New York Times reports. Although his violent nature is well-known, the Times says he is seen as "an unusual combination of Robin Hood and billionaire, a source of mirth, grudging respect and even outright reverence because of his repeated ability to outfox the country's deeply unpopular government."