El Chapo Mexican Drug Lord Escapes from Prison… Again

Mexico's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has escaped from prison. After freeing himself via a 1 mile-long tunnel that began at an opening near a shower in his jail cell, authorities have put together a manhunt to find the powerful drug lord.

This is the second time he's escaped from a maximum security prison.

The Huffington Post reports that the escape was "elaborate" and the route was "built without the detection of authorities." Oddly enough, the maximum security prison is considered one of the most secure ones around. El Chapo was re-captured just last year and sent to the center until his escape last week.

Authorities fear that should El Chapo not be captured again, he'll soon end up back in power as the commander of the Sinaloa Cartel.

"We may never find him again," said retired Unites States DEA chief of international operations Michael S. Vigil. "All the accolades that Mexico has received in their counterdrug efforts will be erased by this one event."

On the escape, President Enrique Pena Nieto claimed, "This represents without a doubt an affront to the Mexican state. But I also have confidence in the institutions of the Mexican state ... that they have the strength and determination to recapture this criminal."

Naturally, the government assured everyone that he would not escape again if found.

The Today Show's Savannah Guthrie recently reported on the escape, stating that the original capture was such a "huge prize for the Mexican government." NBC News Analyst Barry McCaffrey called the escape an "astonishing lapse of judgement" on the part of Mexican authorities.

"Some sources estimate the cartels pay a billion dollars a year in bribes," McCaffrey said. He further suggested that President Pena Nieto "cannot rely on his own law enforcement system."