ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images(MEXICO CITY) — Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has escaped from a maximum security prison for the second time.
Guzman, who led the Sinaloa Cartel, escaped from a prison outside Mexico City shortly before 9 p.m. local time Saturday, the Mexican National Security Commission said in a statement on Sunday.
He was last seen on video surveillance going to the showers. Having not seen him for some time, prison personnel checked his cell and realized Guzman was missing.
Authorities were searching the surrounding area, including highways, and flights were suspended at the nearby Toluca airport.
Guzman was captured in the beach resort town of Mazatlan in February 2014. He was once described by the U.S. Treasury as “the most powerful drug trafficker in the world.”
Prior to his arrest, Guzman was on the run for over 10 years after he escaped from another Mexican maximum security prison with help from prison guards in 2001.
Guzman had been a long-wanted figure by the Drug Enforcement Agency.
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