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There's something peculiar about the 2 prisons Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' escaped from

Earlier this month, the world's most notorious drug lord escaped for a second time from a high-security prison in Mexico — one that looks identical to the prison that failed to hold him the first time.

puente grande el chapo prison
puente grande el chapo prison

(Mexico National Security Commission) Mexican high-security prison Puente Grande, near Guadalajara, Mexico.

In 1993, Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" or "Shorty" Guzmán Loera was confined in one of Mexico's toughest prisons, Puente Grande — where each convict is assigned two prison guards and monitored with an advanced surveillance system, according to The New York Times.

On January 19, 2001, Guzmán cut his 20-year-sentence short and was successfully smuggled out of Puente Grande.

Some authorities believe Guzmán bribed prison workers to dismantle security cameras, hide him in a laundry cart, and then wheel him onto a truck — allowing him to disappear for 13 years.

After Guzmán's recapture in 2014, he was detained in an L-shaped cell at Altiplano Federal Penitentiary for less than 17 months before fleeing through a custom-built labyrinth underneath the prison.

The entrance to the estimated $50 million (including bribes and construction) escape route was placed in the blind spot of his cell's only security camera, which investigators assert could have only occurred with the collusion of prison guards and officials.

el chapo jail
el chapo jail

(Reuters) A view of the cell that held 'El Chapo' at Altiplano Federal Penitentiary.

Dámaso López, a former employee of the Puente Grande prison, is a prime suspect in the investigation into Guzmán's escape, The New York Times reports, citing a senior Mexican law-enforcement official.

Authorities believe López may have stolen a copy of the prison's blueprints before leaving his post at Puente Grande. "López is believed to have close knowledge of the layout of the prisons and security procedures. The tunnel makers may have also had the GPS coordinates for Mr. Guzmán’s shower stall," The New York Times reports.

Considering both prisons are shockingly similar in layout, the stolen blueprints from 2001 would have tremendously aided Guzmán's accomplices in helping him escape.

el chapo prison
el chapo prison

(Google Maps/Amanda Macias/Business Insider)

NOW WATCH: Here's how the world's most notorious drug lord escaped from his high-security prison cell



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