MEXICO.-Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, one of the top drug lords in Mexican history and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, has escaped from a maximum security prison in central Mexico, federal authorities have confirmed.

The National Security Commission issued a statement, about Guzman going into the showers before 8:52pm but then a missing by the time a security camera check on his cell reveled it to be empty.

Highways and local roads were quickly placed under heavy surveillance and even closed in some parts, along with the closure of the Toluca city airport, which is near and in the same state as the prison, the State of Mexico.

This is the second time the drug lord has escaped, the first time being in early 2001 from the Puente Grande penitentiary, less than two months after then president Vicente Fox was sworn in, one of the first stains in his once hope-filled presidency.

His capture in February of last year was seen a much needed victory for embattled President Enrique Peña Nieto, who was already then struggling with downward approval ratings. But now, his second escape will be an even harder blow for Peña than it was for Fox, as the current president now suffers from a historically low popularity and public support after corruption allegations and a sluggish economy, despite controversial reforms pushed through Congress at the beginning of his term.

Fool me once, shame on Chapo. Fool me twice, shame on Peña Nieto?

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jose.sanchez@sandiegored.com