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ALMOLOYA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico's interior secretary says Joaquin Guzman must have had inside help to escape from a maximum security prison west of Mexico City last weekend.
As authorities hunt for any sign of Mexico's most powerful drug lord, security experts said the elaborately designed tunnel he used makes it clear that "El Chapo's" escape involved help on a grand scale. A former member of Mexico's domestic intelligence service, Alejandra Hope, notes in a blog that the tunnel was a mile-long, "wide enough to hold a motorcycle, and ending in one of the few blind spots in Mexico's most-secure prison."
Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong adds that the tunnel builders would have needed the blueprints to reach Guzman's cell.
Some 32 prison employees, including the prison director are being questioned.
U.S. officials say the tunnel must have been in the works for at least a year.
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APPHOTO XLAT112: This poster provided by Mexico's attorney general, shows the most recent image of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman before he escaped from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Sunday, July 12, 2015. The Mexican government is offering a 60 million pesos (about $4 million dollars) reward for information leading to his capture, after Guzman, escaped from the maximum security prison through a mile long tunnel that opened into the shower area of his cell. (Mexico's Attorney General's Office via AP) (13 Jul 2015)
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APPHOTO XLAT107: In this photo provided by Mexico's attorney general, authorities inspect the exit of the tunnel they claim was used by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to break out of the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Sunday, July 12, 2015. A massive manhunt is underway after Guzman, escaped from the maximum security prison through the tunnel that opened into the shower area of his cell, the country's top security official announced. (Mexico's Attorney General's Office via AP) (12 Jul 2015)
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APPHOTO XLAT108: This photo provided by Mexico's attorney general, shows the exit of the tunnel they claim was used by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to break out of the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Sunday, July 12, 2015. A massive manhunt is underway after Guzman, escaped from the maximum security prison through the tunnel that opened into the shower area of his cell, the country's top security official announced. (Mexico's Attorney General's Office via AP) (12 Jul 2015)
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APPHOTO XLAT109: In this photo provided by Mexico's attorney general, authorities guard the construction site where the exit of the tunnel, they claim was used by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to break out of the Altiplano maximum security prison, is located, in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, Sunday, July 12, 2015. A massive manhunt is underway after Guzman, escaped from the maximum security prison through the tunnel that opened into the shower area of his cell, the country's top security official announced. (Mexico's Attorney General's Office via AP) (12 Jul 2015)
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