The Daily Mail Article –
As Mexican marines forced their way into his main hideout in Culiacan just days ago, Guzman slipped out of through a secret door beneath a bathtub
He climbed down a corrugated steel ladder into a network of tunnels and sewer canals that connect to at least seven other houses in Culiacan, officials said
A set of photographs show the houses that appear unremarkable from the outside
But at each residence, the Mexican military found the same thing: steel reinforced doors and an escape hatch leading to a series of dank, smelly interconnected tunnels in the city’s drainage system
While Guzman escaped through the tunnels on this occasion, days later he was ultimately arrested after fleeing to the beachside resort of Mazatlan
Fascinating images have emerged showing the intricate tunnels through which the world’s Most Wanted Drug Lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman escaped last week only to be nabbed days later at a beachside resort.
As Mexican marines forced their way into his main hideout in Culiacan just days ago, Guzman, whose nickname means ‘Shorty,’ slipped out of the home through a secret door beneath a bathtub.
He then climbed down a corrugated steel ladder into a network of tunnels and sewer canals that connect to at least seven other houses in Culiacan, officials said.
Elaborate tunnels: Guzman escaped firstly through an open steel reinforced door leading to a series of interconnected tunnels in the city’s drainage system in the city of Culiacan. The above picture shows one of about seven of these doors
Caught: Just days after infamous Guzman escaped through the tunnels, pictured, linking his Culiacan homes, he was finally accosted at a beach side condo
Got him: Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, pictured, was arrested Saturday but days earlier he evaded authorities by escaping through the tunnels
The photographs show the houses that appear unremarkable from the outside, but at each residence, the Mexican military found the same thing: steel reinforced doors and an escape hatch below the bathtubs.
Each of the trapdoors led to a series of dank, smelly interconnected tunnels in the city’s drainage system.
An Associated Press reporter who walked through one of the tunnels had to dismount into a canal and stoop to enter the drain pipe, which was filled with water and mud and smelled of sewage.
About 2300 feet in, a trap door was open, revealing a newly constructed tunnel.
Large and lined with wood panels like a cabin, the passage had lighting and air conditioning.
At the end of the tunnel was a blue ladder attached to the wall that led to another of the houses Mexican authorities say Guzman used as a hideout.
Working on the information gleaned through wiretaps and from Guzman’s bodyguards who were arrested in a series of raids from February 13, marines swarmed the house of Guzman’s ex-wife
But they struggled to batter down the steel-reinforced door, which gave the cartel boss the time he needed to flee.
Once law enforcement were inside, it was too late. Guzman was gone.
However, U.S. intelligence was good. Officials knew that he had been spending time at the beachside resort of Mazatlan, and they even knew where he liked to stay while there.
Way out: The drug lord went to great lengths to ensure he could escape, and the tunnels worked – at first
Intricate: The tunnels in the city’s drainage system link seven homes, including this one
Back door: Officials arrested one of Guzman’s top aides a day after he fled and the aide told investigators that he picked up Guzman from a drainage pipe and helped him flee. This photo shows another home linked by tunnels
As he traveled south to Mazatlan, leaving behind grenades, rifles, ballistic vests and armored cars, because he didn’t have time to bring them, hot on his heels was a team of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents.
The DEA officers set up a base of operations with Mexican marines in the city, according to a U.S. law-enforcement officials.
Early on Saturday morning, Guzman’s reign came to an end without a shot fired.
Marines closed the beachside road in front of the Miramar condominiums, a 10-story, pearl-colored building with white balconies overlooking the Pacific and a small pool in front.
Wouldn’t know: At each residence, including that pictured, the Mexican military found the same thing: steel reinforced doors and an escape hatch below the bathtubs. Each of the trapdoors led to a series of dank, smelly interconnected tunnels in the city’s drainage system
Drug lord: Joaquin ‘El Chapa’ Guzman is led into a military helicopter following his arrest early Saturday morning
Raid: He was finally arrested during a raid Saturday at his condo, pictured, in Mazatlan, with his young wife
Smashing down the door of the condo, they seized the country’s most-wanted man at 6:40 a.m. without a shot being fired from either side.
‘He didn’t put up any resistance,’ Mike Vigil, a retired senior DEA official briefed on the arrest told The Washington Post. ‘He was physically tired from the stress of being hunted.’
The 56-year-old was marched outside in front of scores of hungry media and taken by helicopter to a maximum-security prison in Almoloya de Juarez, outside Mexico City.
It’s unclear yet whether he will be tried in the U.S. or Mexico.
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