Copy linkEmailFacebookWhatsAppXLinkedInBlueskyThreadsImpact Link
SaveSaved
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider
subscribers. Become an Insider
and start reading now.Have an account? .
Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was captured on Friday after more than six months on the run, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced via Twitter.
The fugitive was apprehended after a shootout with Mexican marines in the city of Los Mochis, in his home state of Sinaloa, according to The Associated Press.
He initially broke free from prison on July 11, 2015. Slipping through a perfectly placed hole in the blind spot of a lone security camera, the world's most notorious drug lord escaped from the high-security prison.
He used a custom-built labyrinth underneath his L-shaped Altiplano prison cell — an escape estimated to have cost Guzmán $50 million in construction and bribes to prison officials, The Telegraph reported.
Here's the entrance to Guzmán's L-shaped prison cell in Mexico's Altiplano Federal Penitentiary.
Reuters
The drug-cartel leader, who was recaptured by Mexican marines in February 2014, began plotting his escape almost immediately.
Reuters
A simple desk and shelf are seen in one corner of his cell.
Reuters
Here's a shot of Guzmán's bed.
Reuters
His cell had one security camera, which was located above his bed.
Reuters
The entrance to Guzmán's custom-built tunnel was perfectly located within the surveillance camera's blind spot ...
Reuters
... leading some investigators to believe that a person within the prison shared blueprints and security details with Guzmán's engineers.
Reuters
Shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday, Guzmán got up from his bed and walked toward his shower at the far end of his cell.
Reuters
He crouched down behind a short wall that separated his shower from his toilet and sink.
Reuters
He then squeezed through the shower floor measuring 1 1/2 feet by 1 1/2 feet.
Reuters
Here's a close-up of the hole.
Reuters
Guzmán then climbed down a 32-foot ladder ...
REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
... which led to a mile-long tunnel that was 5 1/2 feet high (one inch taller than Guzmán) and 2 feet 7 inches wide.
Reuters
The secret passage was illuminated, ventilated, and equipped with a motorcycle modified to run on rails.
Reuters
Authorities believe the motorcycle was used to move dirt during the construction of the tunnel.
Reuters
And this mechanical pulley found at the far end of the passage may have been used to lift up debris from the excavation.
Reuters
The end of the tunnel led to a basement of an abandoned home. The room was full of construction materials.
Reuters
A short ladder in the corner of the room was the last leg of Guzmán's escape.
Reuters
The ladder opened up to a dirt floor of a dusty unfinished home.
Reuters
While the owner of the property is still unknown, officials believe the concrete building was uninhabited for some time. "It's totally abandoned," Mexican Attorney General Arely Gómez González told reporters.
Reuters
The nondescript abandoned site is at least half a mile away from any other building.
AP
Read next
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Amanda was formerly a correspondent for Business Insider's military and defense team. Before Business Insider, she worked as a field producer for Reuters in Brussels covering NATO and EU political institutions.Amanda grew up in the US Army and graduated from the University of Missouri-School of Journalism. She lives in Washington, DC, with her spoiled cat, Harlem.Disclosure: Amanda has family who work at Lockheed Martin, a company she regularly covers.
