The Great Escape: El Chapo's Daring Tunnel Breakout

In the dimly lit tunnel beneath the Mexican countryside, a group of men stood frozen in place, clutching pickaxes and shovels. The vibrations of a vehicle passing above them sent shivers down their spines. They couldn't afford to make a sound that might expose their presence. These men were on a mission, and they were closer to their goal than ever before: reaching the prison cell of Mexico's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

For months, these daring tunnelers had been digging through solid rock with nothing but pickaxes and shovels. They moved as swiftly as they could, all while exercising extreme caution. Using modern tunneling equipment like jackhammers and boring machines would be faster but riskier, as the noise could give them away. Their staging area, located just a mile from the prison perimeter, had to remain inconspicuous.

Before embarking on their underground journey, El Chapo's powerful drug cartel had acquired a small plot of land as close to the prison as possible. They began constructing two small homes as a cover for their real intentions. These homes, however, never progressed beyond rough brick shells. They were never meant to be inhabited but served as a facade for the construction of the tunnel that would set El Chapo free.

Time was not on their side. Mexican authorities, aware of El Chapo's history of prison escapes and evading law enforcement, could transfer him to another prison at any moment to thwart any potential escape attempts. Every day the tunnelers spent digging brought them closer to their boss but also increased the risk of discovery. A new escape plan elsewhere would have to be devised.

Moreover, the unfinished buildings began attracting the attention of local officials and curious villagers. Why would someone start construction on an empty piece of land and abruptly stop with only a shell of a home in place? The pressure on the tunnelers was mounting.

Inside his cell, El Chapo maintained the image of a model prisoner. Despite his history of orchestrating horrific violence, he was cordial with his prison guards and fellow inmates. His phone conversations were monitored, and his mail was scrutinized by prison officials. Yet, not a single hint of the ongoing escape plot was ever revealed. El Chapo was a seasoned professional, patient but increasingly anxious.

The tunneling crew faced immense pressure from the outset. They knew they had to work quickly. Despite the odds stacked against them, they not only reached El Chapo before any potential transfer but did so just sixteen months into his prison sentence. The tunnel they constructed was impressive, baffling officials who later remarked that such an undertaking should have taken 18 months to two years to complete.

The tunnel featured reinforced walls with wooden paneling and a mile-long ventilation system powered by a generator to keep it oxygenated. On the ground, rails were laid down, and a motorcycle shuttled two carts filled with dirt back and forth along the tunnel. Once they reached El Chapo, he would hop on the motorcycle for a swift ride to freedom.

The challenge was disposing of the excavated dirt without raising suspicion. The tunnelers ingeniously transported the dirt to the tunnel opening, where others scattered it around the fields outside. This covert method avoided drawing attention to the fresh dirt piles that would have raised questions.

Then, on a fateful night in July 2015, the sound of metal scraping echoed from El Chapo's shower inside his cell. The ceramic bottom of the shower popped loose, revealing a friendly face beckoning him into the darkness below. Without hesitation, El Chapo descended 30 feet into a narrow tunnel, just tall enough for him to stand upright, avoiding the need to hunch as he walked.

A few feet inside the tunnel, El Chapo boarded a small motorcycle mounted on metal tracks. The carts filled with dirt were gone. Within minutes of leaving his cell, El Chapo was gliding along the well-lit tunnel, a thrilling escape reminiscent of an amusement park ride.

After a two-minute journey, El Chapo emerged in the shell of an empty home where his crew had worked secretly for a year and a half. He changed into clean clothes and then climbed into a waiting truck. Under the cover of darkness, El Chapo was whisked away, leaving behind an incredible mile-long secret tunnel and a frustrated Mexican prison system and government.

El Chapo's freedom, however, would be short-lived. He was captured again just months after his escape when his new safe house was compromised by careless gunmen. Ultimately, Mexico approved his extradition to the United States, where he now faces life in prison.

Despite being one of the deadliest men in Mexico's history, El Chapo's final chapter is marked by a sobbing plea for leniency to US justice officials—a plea that went unanswered. His legacy remains as a criminal mastermind who, despite his numerous escapes, met his match in the end.