Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is being sentenced in the US today. I had no idea he did so much tunelling!
As the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Guzmán oversaw operations whereby mass cocaine, methamphetamines, marijuana,[10] and heroin was produced and subsequently smuggled into and distributed throughout the United States and Europe, the world's largest users.[11][12] He achieved this by pioneering the use of distribution cells in the U.S. and long-range tunnels near borders,[5] which enabled him to export more drugs to the United States than any other trafficker in history.[13]
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The Mexican military followed the bodyguards' tips to Guzmán's former wife's house, but they had trouble ramming the steel-reinforced front door, which allowed Guzmán to escape through a system of secret tunnels that connected six houses, eventually moving south to Mazatlán.
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After the guards did not see him for twenty-five minutes on surveillance video, personnel went looking for him.[189] When they reached his cell, Guzmán was gone. It was discovered he had escaped through a tunnel leading from the shower area to a house construction site 1.5 km (0.93 mi) away in a Santa Juanita neighborhood.[190][191] The tunnel lay 10 m (33 ft) deep underground, and Guzmán used a ladder to climb to the bottom. The tunnel was 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) tall and 75 cm (30 in) in width. It was equipped with artificial light, air ducts, and high-quality construction materials.[187] In addition, a motorcycle was found in the tunnel, which authorities think was used to transport materials and possibly Guzmán himself.[192][193]
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The Attorney General of México declared that "El Chapo ran away through a gully and, although he was found by a helicopter, he was with two women and a girl and it was decided not to shoot".
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After the gunmen returned to the house, placing a large order for tacos at a nearby restaurant and picking up the order in a white van after midnight,[220] the residence was raided in the early hours of 8 January 2016,[225][226] in Operation Black Swan, by 17 marines from the Mexican Navy's Special Forces with support from the Mexican Army and the Federal Police[227][228] – but Guzmán and a lieutenant escaped through a secret tunnel, emerging 1.5 km away and stealing a vehicle at gunpoint.
The rest of the article is much more grisly than those excerpts, BTW.
I have to wonder how he kept power from being seized every time he went to prison. It seems quite common for drug cartels to split when the kingpin goes to jail. I imagine they all make threats of the most horrific violence for disloyalty, so there has to be something else to keep people loyal to you for multi-year prison stints.