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Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has escaped from a
maximum-security prison in central Mexico, almost a year and a half after being captured, prompting a major search operation, the government said Sunday.
The National Security Commission said in a statement that Mr. Guzmán disappeared from view on the security cameras late Saturday at the Altiplano I federal penitentiary in Mexico state, and was soon found to be missing from his cell.
His escape was then confirmed and a major search operation set up in the zone, including on highways in surrounding states. All flights were canceled at the airport at Toluca, the capital of Mexico state, the commission said.
It was the second time that Mr. Guzmán, the reputed head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, has managed to escape from prison.
Mr. Guzmán second escape from a maximum-security Mexican lockup is bound to be a
big embarrassment to the government of President Enrique Peńa Nieto. The drug capo had for years been at the top of the list of Mexico’s most-wanted criminals since escaping in a laundry cart in 2001 from yet another high-security prison.