Mexico arrests 7 over El Chapo jailbreak: Official

Mexico arrests 7 over El Chapo jailbreak: Official
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2015/07/18/420767/Mexico-Chapo-Guzman-Altiplano-
Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:41AM

Photo of a notice published in newspapers offering 60 million Mexican pesos (3.8 million USD approximately) reward to anyone with information leading to the recapture of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera in Mexico City on July 16, 2015. © AFP

Mexican authorities say seven people believed to be involved in the recent prison break of the country’s most notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman have been taken into custody pending trial.

A federal official, whose name was not mentioned in the reports, made the announcement on Friday. However, it is not clear whether those arrested are prison guards or other officials.

Guzman managed to escape from his cell at the Altiplano jail, which is Mexico's highest-security facility, on July 11 even though he was reportedly wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, and surveillance cameras were recording his jail cell 24 hours a day.

Nearly three dozen people have been detained for questioning, while more may be charged.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who was on a trip to France when Guzman sneaked out of the jail, said in a Friday speech that Guzman's escape has "caused frustration and fury across broad sectors of society.”

View of the hole in the shower of the Almoloya prison where Joaquin Guzman Loera "El Chapo Guzman" was and through which he escaped, on July 15, 2015 in Almoloya de Juarez, Mexico. © AFP

He expressed confidence that his government will recapture him “with the valor, courage and determination of our armed forces and federal security forces.”

The July 11 jailbreak is Guzman's second escape in 14 years. His first prison break was in 2001, when he got out of the jail in a laundry cart in the western Jalisco state. Guzman had been captured last year.

Mexico says his escape was successful due to Guzman's skill at digging tunnels, adding that his people could get access to the blueprints for the prison and tunnel directly into his shower stall undetected as a result of misconduct or corruption.

Meanwhile, 88 percent of Mexicans believe the drug lord’s escape was an inside job, and 65 percent blame it on the authorities' incompetence, according to a poll published in the newspaper Reforma.