MEXICO CITY — The last time Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was behind bars, his home was a 60-square-foot room with a concrete slab for a bed, a cold-water sink, and a hole in the ground for a toilet, inside the most restrictive wing of what was long touted as Mexico’s highest-security prison.
And that is where Guzmán returned Friday night, after flouting those security measures six months ago when he escaped through a tunnel. The question now is: Can Federal Social Re-adaptation Center No. 1, otherwise known as Altiplano prison, hold him this time?
Given the police and military patrols swarming the exterior of the prison, set amid farmland west of Mexico City, it appears that Mexican authorities are taking their recaptured prisoner seriously. And experts assume that the laxness seen before his escape in July – such as prison guards playing solitaire instead of watching their monitors – will be stiffened up for the time being. He may not be housed on the first floor again – the perfect spot for a tunnel master.
But risks remain. Guzmán’s lawyers are likely to delay extradition for as long as possible, and the billionaire drug lord still has unmatched abilities to bribe or threaten authorities.
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