How El Chapo Nearly Escaped: Through the Looking Glass

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman let his henchmen do the fighting
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 12, 2016 8:16 AM CST
How El Chapo Nearly Escaped: Through the Looking Glass
A mirrored door in a closet leading to a tunnel is shown on Monday inside the home marines raided in search of Joaquin Guzman in Los Mochis, Mexico.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

How did notorious Mexican drug boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman nearly evade capture during a raid last week? By secret tunnel, of course—this time using a doorway tucked behind a mirror in a dressing room, Reuters reports. The news-watching public got full view of the raid and the hidden tunnel thanks to video shot during the raid by Mexican marines. Aired Monday by Televisa, the GoPro footage shows marines exchanging gunfire with 15 henchmen armed with rocket launchers and machine guns inside the house in Los Mochis. Bullet holes and blood are seen on white walls in the house, where marines also found a sofa covered with condoms, antibiotics, syringes, and injectable testosterone in Guzman's bedroom. (See the video on ABC News, but be warned, it's violent.)

After 90 minutes, marines discovered the tunnel entrance behind the mirror by pulling a lever in a light fixture. Seems El Chapo nearly escaped by going behind the mirror and climbing down into a tunnel that connects to city drains. He waited there for hours while henchmen tried to distract marines by moving toward the roof of the house, but when rain began filling the drains, Guzman popped up in a manhole a mile away. According to the Mexican show "Primero Noticias," surveillance footage showed him and a lieutenant climb out, steal two cars, and drive away. But they were soon caught by Mexican Federal Police. "My holidays are over," he apparently said when captured. (See Sean Penn's response to stories that he led authorities to El Chapo.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X