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San Bernardino County LIve News

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday the U.S. is ready to join the manhunt for the drug l

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the United States is concerned with drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman’s daring escape Saturday from a Mexican prison and said the U.S. "stands ready" to cooperate in his swift recapture. Guzman, head of the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel, is wanted on multiple drug-trafficking and organized-crime charges in the United States. The U.S. Treasury Department has declared Guzman the most influential trafficker in the world. A massive manhunt for Guzman is underway in Mexico after he was able to escape from a maximum-security prison west of Mexico City through an elaborate tunnel, his second escape from a Mexican prison in 14 years. 'An affront' Speaking in France Sunday, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed shock at the escape calling it "an affront" to the Mexican government and said he has confidence Guzman will be recaptured. Pena Nieto, who came to power in 2012 vowing to confront corruption and cartel violence that has killed tens of thousands since 2007, promised a full investigation. He also said prison officials are being questioned about their possible complicity. Latin American analyst Mark Jones of Rice University said Guzman’s second escape, following one from a Mexican prison in 2001, is a serious blow to Pena Nieto's government. Pena Neito "was receiving a number of accolades from the U.S. government for his successes over the past year in apprehending, and bringing in and, in some cases, eliminating many heads of the Mexican (drug) cartels," Jones said. 'Serious embarrassment' "Guzman’s escape from the Altiplano prison in Mexico is a serious embarrassment for Pena Nieto because, in fact, the United States had requested his extradition and Mexico had refused and assured the United States that there was no possibility whatsoever of escape," he added. Jones said there is little U.S. law enforcement can do in the effort to recapture Guzman. Mexico analyst Barry Carr of Australia’s Latrobe University also said Guzman’s latest escape is one of a number of events in the past 18 months that have tarnished the anti-corruption image of the Pena Nieto administration. He said Guzman’s escape points out a flaw in U.S.-Mexican anti-drug efforts since U.S. authorities do not know for certain whether members of Mexican law enforcement can be trusted with intelligence information


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