Mexico | Escape by top drug lord a strong blow to government

A poster displayed at a Chicago Crime Commission news conference in Chicago, shows Joaquin “El Chapo’’ Guzman

The capture of drug lord Joaquin Guzman was the crowning achievement of President Enrique Pena Nieto’s government in its war against drug cartels, a beacon of success amid domestic woes. That makes the bold escape by “El Chapo” from a maximum security prison all the more devastating.
A widespread manhunt that included highway checkpoints, stepped up border security and closure of an international airport failed to turn up any trace of Guzman by yesterday, more than 24 hours after he got away.
Widely considered the world’s richest and most powerful drug trafficker before his capture last year, Guzman slipped down a shaft from his prison cell’s shower area late Saturday and disappeared into a sophisticated 1.5 kilometer-long tunnel with ventilation, lighting and a motorcycle apparently used to move dirt.
“All the accolades that Mexico has received in their counter-drug efforts will be erased by this one event” if Guzman is not recaptured, said Michael S. Vigil, a retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief of international operations.
More than anything else, the escape undermined Mexico›s assertion it can deal with top drug lords at home and doesn›t need to extradite them to the U.S. The national pride that appeared to motivate Pena Nieto›s administration to prosecute drug lords like Guzman through its own court system has now turned into a national embarrassment.
“This is regrettable, very bad, because it without doubt affects the image of Mexico in the world,” Mexican Sen. Luis Miguel Barbosa told journalists in Paris yesterday. He was part of a delegation traveling with the Mexican president to the French capital.
“You have to completely renew the Mexican prison system. The arrest of all warders and managers is not enough,” he said. “This happened due to collaboration from within the jail at the highest level.” Alberto Arce and Christopher, Sherman, Mexico City, AP