Satellite images reveal the full extent of Mexican drugs kingpin El Chapo's astonishing escape from prison in mile-long tunnel that was a year in the making

  • Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, head of Sinaloa Cartel, is on the run after escaping from Altiplano jail on Saturday
  • Underground tunnel through which he escaped led from the prison shower to a construction site nearly a mile away
  • A miracle of underground engineering, the tunnel was complete with air vents, electric lights and emergency oxygen
  • More than 3,250 tonnes of earth was transported from the site, which would have required 379 dump trucks 
  • No sign of El Chapo despite a $3.8million reward offered by Mexican government 

By Imogen Calderwood and Alasdair Baverstock In Mexico For Mailonline

Published: 08:17 EST, 14 July 2015 | Updated: 07:58 EST, 16 July 2015

The full extent of notorious gang leader El Chapo's astonishing escape has been revealed by satellite images of the area surrounding the top security Mexican jail. 

Aerial images of the jail and the surrounding countryside reveal just how complex the escape operation was, as a construction site sprang up over the course of a year just a mile from the Altiplano jail.

Given the sheer size of the operation, questions are being asked as to how no one at the jail reported noticing anything out of the ordinary.

Billionaire cartel leader Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman began his escape at 8.52pm on Saturday.

He entered the shower block at the high-security prison and, unnoticed by any guards, pried open a 50cm by 50cm grill in the floor of the shower block and climbed 32 feet down a ladder into a tunnel below the prison.

From there he used a motorbike that was waiting at the bottom for him to ride through the tunnel to freedom.

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Massive operation: An aerial image of the site shows the maximum-security Altiplano Prison, the Santa Juana construction site, and the path of the 0.7mile underground tunnel that connects them. Drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman escaped from the prison on Saturday through the tunnel, sparking a nation-wide manhunt

Detailed planning: The tunnel was a miracle of underground engineering, and came compete with electric lights and ventilation. El Chapo began his escape by climbing through a grill in the floor of the shower block, before climbing down a 32ft shaft and entering the tunnel

Spot the difference: Before and after satellite images, taken February 2014 (left) and February 2015 (right) show how the construction sprang up thanks to the work of El Chapo's engineering team 

Spot the difference: Before and after satellite images, taken February 2014 (left) and February 2015 (right) show how the construction sprang up thanks to the work of El Chapo's engineering team 

Ride to freedom: A Mexican newspaper published photos of the motorbike that El Chapo was said to have used to take him through the tunnel

Breathing free air: One of the ladders connecting the tunnel to either the prison shower block or the house that was the end of the tunnel

A miracle of subterranean construction, the remarkable tunnel was complete with air vents, electric lights, emergency oxygen tanks.

Although not a tall man - El Chapo means 'the shorty' in Spanish - the 5ft 6in gang lord was able to make his getaway standing upright in the 5.57 feet-high tunnel.

There was even a motorbike fitted to rails inside the tunnel to help remove the tonnes of earth when it was being built.

Neighbours have reported that a team of no more than four men were involved in constructing the tunnel, but the skilled workers stuck to a gruelling schedule of 10 hours a day for almost an entire year. 

The engineers were forced to twice change the direction of the tunnel, in order to avoid the most sensitive areas of the prison, located 50 miles outside of Mexico City. 

The underground getaway route carved a nearly mile-long path deep below the prison, before opening into a construction site in Santa Juana, hidden inside a ready-made house that was simple and understated.

Baffled: Authorities look into the entrance to a secret tunnel through which Guzman is believed to had fled. He used the tunnel to travel the 0.7miles between the prison and the Santa Juana construction site. Once there, he was able to take his time, using the bathroom and collecting a change of clothes, before disappearing once again

Baffled: Authorities look into the entrance to a secret tunnel through which Guzman is believed to had fled. He used the tunnel to travel the 0.7miles between the prison and the Santa Juana construction site. Once there, he was able to take his time, using the bathroom and collecting a change of clothes, before disappearing once again

Flight to safety: According to the El Blog Del Narco the man in the picture on the right is Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and was taken less than two days after his brazen escape from jail in Mexico on Saturday
Relaxed: El Chapo is pictured here in another photograph which was released to the blog by one of Guzman's sons. Notable is that he appears to be in public just hours after his prison break

Relaxed: El Chapo is pictured here in photographs released by one of his sons. They claim to show El Chapo after his escape

The ramshackle and unfinished building housed two bedrooms and a cellar of 110-square-metres, from which the construction of the tunnel began.  

While inside the building, it has been reported that the crime lord took his time, using the bathroom and collecting a change of clothes before once again disappearing into the Mexican countryside, eluding the authorities for the second time in 15 years.

The operation to construct the tunnel was enormous, and required extensive and precise planning with the help of detailed blueprints of the prison, obtained by El Chapo's men. 

More than 3,250 tonnes of earth had to be removed and transported away from the site; the tunnel was nearly a mile long, 80cm wide and nearly two-metres tall, and would have produced 2,652 cubic metres of earth.

Once the earth was removed from the tunnel it was stored in a warehouse onsite, and from their taken away in trucks in tens of thousands of bags.  

The sheer quantity of earth being removed would have required 379 dump trucks driving to and from the Santa Juana construction site.  

Staff at the Altiplano prison are equipped with radar and electronic depth testing equipment which they are required to use regularly, specifically in order to check for tunnels. 

But still nothing was ever reported. 

Heavily concealed: The alleged end of the tunnel through which Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman could have escaped from the Altiplano prison

Heavily concealed: The alleged end of the tunnel through which Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman could have escaped from the Altiplano prison

Break for freedom: Guzman escaped from the maximum-security prison on Sunday. This was his second jail break in 14 years

Break for freedom: Guzman escaped from the maximum-security prison on Sunday. This was his second jail break in 14 years

Inconspicuous: Pictured is the interior of the home through which Guzman fled. Clothes and a phone charger could be seen inside

Inconspicuous: Pictured is the interior of the home through which Guzman fled. Clothes and a phone charger could be seen inside

Escape gear? This box of clothes was also pictured at the half-constructed property, which housed two bedrooms and the 110m2 cellar

Escape gear? This box of clothes was also pictured at the half-constructed property, which housed two bedrooms and the 110m2 cellar

Crime scene tape is placed around another hole near the house he is thought to have escaped into

Crime scene tape is placed around another hole near the house he is thought to have escaped into

Federal police check a house at the end of the tunnel through which he could have escaped

Federal police check a house at the end of the tunnel through which he could have escaped

Bedding can be seen in one of the pipes being inspected by police, although it is not yet known who put the blankets in place or why

Bedding can be seen in one of the pipes being inspected by police, although it is not yet known who put the blankets in place or why

Martin Barron, a security specialist for the National Institute of Penal Sciences, told Argentina's La Nacion: 'Since 1991, the prison has had sensors in the surroundings to stop anyone escaping.

'It was said that it would be impossible to build a tunnel within the prison's perimeters, let alone one of almost a mile.

'This shows us that either the sensors were not working well, or they had been disconnected.' 

Nearby construction said to be connected to a water reservoir project, aiming to bring water from the west of the capital into Mexico City, would have helped avoid arousing suspicion.  

The company responsible for the construction, Cutzamala Constructions, reportedly started the job around 14 months ago. 

But some of the pipes have still not been laid and workers admitted they did not know why the work was taking place in that area.  

But kingpin El Chapo is no stranger to subterranean getaways. 

The Sinaloa cartel has a long history of tunnel building for stashing contraband and hiding its leaders, and even has its own engineering division to carry out the work.   

Notorious: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, pictured after his last arrest in 2014, has escaped from a maximum security prison in Mexico. The drugs kingspin is head of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel

Notorious: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, pictured after his last arrest in 2014, has escaped from a maximum security prison in Mexico. The drugs kingspin is head of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel

Massive search: A convoy of federal police guard a prison van travelling through Mexico City on Sunday. It is believed to hold some of the 18 prison officials who have been taken in for questioning

Massive search: A convoy of federal police guard a prison van travelling through Mexico City on Sunday. It is believed to hold some of the 18 prison officials who have been taken in for questioning

A couple who live next to the end of El Chapo's escape tunnel have revealed how a mysterious neighbour who called himself 'El Pastor' moved into the area six months ago and claimed he was building a house. 

Lorenzo Esquivel and Maria Esther Salgado, live a mile from the Altiplano jail in the town of Almoloya de Juarez.

The couple told how the man moved into the grey, brink building at the start of this year, before embarking on a series of building works.

They said the man – who they described as tall, portly and in his 50s – would often ferry material to and from the site in his red 4x4 and a white pick-up truck.

The man introduced himself as El Pastor – meaning the Shepherd – the couple told MailOnline.

'He definitely wasn't from around here but he was always very friendly,' they said.

'He told us he was building a new house on the property but we never saw any exterior changes.'

On Saturday, the day El Chapo made his escape, the couple described seeing two 'very luxury black 4x4s' also arrive at the property.

They saw the cars drive away again the following morning, along with El Pastor's two vehicles. 

All of this is uncannily similar to the operation that El Chapo had led in the late 1980s, in the construction of his first drug-trafficking tunnel. 

Evidence of the operation came to light in the trial of an architect, named Felipe Corona-Verbera, who was brought in to design and build a house on a site in the Mexican border town of Aqua Prieta.

Manhunt: Guzman is listed among the 'World's Most Powerful People' by Forbes magazine, which ranked him above the presidents of France and Venezuela

Manhunt: Guzman is listed among the 'World's Most Powerful People' by Forbes magazine, which ranked him above the presidents of France and Venezuela

Court papers reveal that El Chapo bought a patch of land in the town, according to the Daily Beast, before he began the construction of a tunnel from within the house, leading to a warehouse in Douglas, Arizona.

Soon, massive quantities of drugs were being transported through it.

A henchman called Miguel 'Gordo' Martinez-Martinez acted as a witness in the trial, at an Arizona federal court house in 2005.

'They started calling him The Fast One, 'El Rapido', because before the planes were arriving back in Colombia on the return, the cocaine was already in Los Angeles,' he testified.

'In the bedroom, underneath the bed there was a hydraulic system in which the bed would raise.

'People would enter through a ladder to put money away in the safes.'

The entrance to the first tunnel was hidden, not beneath a shower, but by a pool table.

But a lesser gang member brought the whole scheme tumbling down, when he left the front door to the house open, while the tunnel entrance was open.

'A policeman went by and saw the pool table on the ceiling,' continued Martinez-Martinez.

The architect, Felipe Corona-Verbera, was jailed for 18 years at the trial, but is the only architect working for El Chapo who has ever been caught.  

The Sinaloa cartel has a long history of tunnel building, particularly along the US border where they were used to smuggle narcotics into America, and in his home state of Sinaloa, where subterranean structures still hide weapons. 

Five days before his capture El Chapo fled from a military operation aimed at his capture through a tunnel in his mansion connected to the city's storm drains.

The tunnel was located below a bathtub, which raised itself vertically by the flick of a switch, revealing escape tunnels.

The same device was found in seven of the 19 separate houses belonging to El Chapo which the government seized following his capture.

Sprawling: The Altiplano Federal Penitentiary complex in Almoloya de Juarez, is just 50 miles outside of the nation's capital Mexico City

Sprawling: The Altiplano Federal Penitentiary complex in Almoloya de Juarez, is just 50 miles outside of the nation's capital Mexico City

Public security forces search a construction site right next to the barbed wire of the prison on Saturday night

Public security forces search a construction site right next to the barbed wire of the prison on Saturday night

Wanted by U.S. prosecutors and once featured in the Forbes list of billionaires, Guzman was gone by the time guards entered his cell in Altiplano prison in central Mexico, the CNS said.

'This is going to be a massive black eye for Pena Nieto's administration,' said Mike Vigil, former head of global operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

'I don't think they took into account the cunning of Chapo Guzman and the unlimited resources he has. If Chapo Guzman is able to make it back to the mountainous terrain that he knows so well in the state of Sinaloa ... he may never be captured again.'  

Neighbours Lorenzo Esquivel and Maria Esther Salgado have revealed how a mystery neighbour called 'El Pastor' moved into the property where El Chapo escaped after fleeing from prison

Neighbours Lorenzo Esquivel and Maria Esther Salgado have revealed how a mystery neighbour called 'El Pastor' moved into the property where El Chapo escaped after fleeing from prison

Prison workers were quickly detained over the escape, and more than 30 officials from the penitentiary have been interrogated in the course of the investigation so far.

The government has offered a $3.8million reward for information that leads to his capture. 

THE BEAUTY QUEEN WIFE AND MOTHER TO HIS TWIN DAUGHTERS

Emma Coronel, Guzman's wife and mother to his twin daughters

Emma Coronel is either Guzman's third or fourth wife and they were married in 2011 when she was just 18-years-old. She caught his eye after winning the Miss Coffee and Guava beauty contest.

Coronel, who is the daughter of one of Guzman's top deputies, Ines Coronel Barreas, was last seen re-entering Mexico in August 2011.

The then 22-year-old had just given birth to Guzman's twin daughters at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, California.

Because Coronel is both an American and Mexican citizen - she is allowed to travel freely between the two countries.

Guzman was caught with an unidentified woman when he was captured following his first escape, but his young wife was unaccounted for.

After the launch of a massive manhunt for Guzman, Mexican President Pena Nieto ordered an investigation into whether public officials had helped the kingpin escape. 

'There's no doubt this is an affront to the Mexican state, but I have confidence that the institutions ... can recapture this criminal,' he said in a statement from Paris.

The escape comes after Guzman's son, Ivan hinted about his father's plans for a daring escape from online earlier this month.

He put up a post on the social network saying 'good things come to those who wait'.

Earlier still, on May 8, the Sinaloa Cartel heir published an emotional pledge to his followers.

He posted: 'I won't lie, I have cried but I bring armed men and I promise that soon the General will be back'.

However, his @IvanArchivaldo account has since been suspended.  

Guzman runs a drug empire that stretches across North America and into Europe and Australia.

His latest escape comes just 16 months after he was captured, in February 2014, following more than a decade on the run. He currently faces federal drug trafficking indictments in the U.S. 

Guzman's cartel, Sinaloa, has been heavily involved in the bloody drug war that has torn through parts of Mexico for the last decade, taking an estimated 100,000 lives. It is believed to control most of the major crossing points for drugs at the US border with Mexico. 

If he is not captured immediately, Guzman will likely be back in full command and control of the Sinaloa cartel in 48 hours, said Michael S. Vigil, a retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief of international operations.

'We may never find him again,' he added. 'All the accolades that Mexico has received in their counterdrug efforts will be erased by this one event.'  

During Guzman's previous years as a fugitive, he transformed himself from a lowly middleman into arguably the most powerful drug trafficker in the world - and he was placed on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's most-wanted list.

His fortune is estimated at more than $1billion, according to Forbes magazine - which listed him among the 'World's Most Powerful People' and ranked him above the presidents of France and Venezuela. 

Guzman was caught by authorities for the first time in Guatemala in 1993, then he was extradited and sentenced to 20 years in prison in Mexico for murder and drug trafficking. 

He escaped from another maximum security prison, Puente Grande in western Jalisco state, in 2001 with the help of prison guards. 

He hid in a laundry cart to make his getaway, but there are several theories as to how he got out.  

Guzman is known for his ability to pay off local residents and even authorities, who tipped him off to security operations launched for his capture. 

Old playbook: When Guzman was last caught he was also using tunnels to evade capture - such as the one pictured above
Fearless: Guzman was operating practically in the open not long before his last capture

Old playbook: When Guzman was last caught he was also using tunnels to evade capture - such as those pictured above

Going underground: Pictured is an interconnected tunnel in a Culiacan drainage system which Guzman used to hide following his escape from Puente Grande prison, in western Jalisco state, in 2001

Going underground: Pictured is an interconnected tunnel in a Culiacan drainage system which Guzman used to hide following his escape from Puente Grande prison, in western Jalisco state, in 2001

He was finally tracked down to a modest beachside high-rise in the Pacific Coast resort city of Mazatlan in February 2014, where he had been hiding with his beauty-queen wife and twin daughters.

Emma Coronel, who was born in California, is a U.S. citizen, which means she has the right to live in the United States. Her father was also a drug lord who died in a shoot-out with the Mexican army.

She was sent to California to give birth so that her daughters would be U.S. citizens too. Federal agents wanted to stop her, but had no formal charges to file so had to let her go free. 

Before security forces captured him, they went on a several-day chase through Culiacan, the capital of his home Sinaloa state, for which the cartel is named. 

They found houses with steel-enforced doors and elaborate tunnels - where Guzman had apparently been staying - that allowed him to escape through the sewer system.

Earlier this year, the then Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said that sending Guzman to the US, where he is wanted, would save Mexico a lot of money, but keeping him there was a question of national sovereignty.

Murillo Karam dismissed concerns that Guzman would escape a second time. That risk 'does not exist', he said. Murillo Karam has since been replaced by Arely Gomez. 

 

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