it was a prison break by joaquin guzman, nicknamed "el chapo." mark potter has the details. >> reporter: when joaquin guzman, the notorious kingpin known as el chapo was arrested in february of last year, after a 13-year manhunt, mexican authorities bragged they were cracking down hard on major drug traffickers and promised he would never escape from their maximum security prison, but he did escape in a daring highly sophisticated scheme involving a mile long tunnel beneath the prison wall, a major embarrassment for the mexican government. >> they have no control over the powerful drug cartels that operate in their country. and they have no control over the system of justice and incarceration in their country. >> reporter: authorities say guzman was last seen on a security camera around 9:00 p.m. entering a shower area in his cell in the prison near mexican city and from there they say he slipped out of camera range through a 20x20 inch hole and climbed down a ladder and entered an elaborate tunnel and that tunnel stretched about a mile and went u

international man hunt continues for one of the world's most notorious drug lords joaquin guzman nicknamed el chapo who escaped while climbing down a hole that was ventilated. inside a half-built house in a farm field about a mile away from the prison. guzman's responsible for a large percentage of the drugs in the u.s. >>> the u.s. offered diplomatic reaction to guzman's escape. attorney general loretta lynch said america shares mexico's concern and is ready to help in the man hunt. both experts say u.s. officials are highly frustrated behind the scenes. mexican authorities arrested el chapo in february of last year. a former drug enforcement administrator said guzman should have been extradited and housed in a u.s. prison. >>> now your nbc 10 first alert weather. nice start to our workweek. here's a live look at the museum of art in philadelphia. we're experiencing warm temperatures and a mix of sun and clouds but changes are on the way in the next couple of days. nbc 10 chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz is here. >> vai, the first thing you may notice is the increase in humidity. we

an international manhunt is under way for guzman nicknamed el chapo. he climbed down a hole into an elaborate tunnel. the passageway stretched about a mile. it was even ventilated and had a small motor car attached to a train track. unreal. here's video of where mexican authorities emerged, inside a half built house in a farm field. the escape operation involved high-tech sophistication and precision precision. >> they have to have very precise gps systems in order to be able to pinpoint exact location where chapo's cell was at. >> his drug cartel supplies most of the heroin and cocaine that enters the u.s. the u.s. actually offered a diplomatic reaction to guzman's escape. attorney general loretta lynch says america concerns mexico's concern and is ready to help in the manhunt. mexican authorities arrested el chapo in february last year. a former drug enforcement administrator says guzman should have been extradited and housed in a u.s. prison. >>> 4:17 now and on to a welcome at decision 2016. presidential candidate donald trump is weighing in on the

an international manhunt is now under way for joaquin guzman nicknamed el chapo. the tunnel was ventilated and had a small motor car attached to a rail track. >> they have to have very precise gps system in order to be able to pinpoint exact location where chapo's cell was at. >> his drug cartel supplies most of the heroin and cocaine that enters the u.s. attorney general loretta lynch said america shares mexico's concern and is ready to help in the manhunt. but experts say u.s. officials behind the scenes are highly frustrated. mexican authorities arrested el chapo in february of last year. a former drug enforcement administrator says guzman should have been extradited and housed in a u.s. prison. >>> presidential candidate donald trump is weighing in on the mexican drug lord's escape. he's made illegal immigration the focus of his run. trump took to twitter posting this unbelievable corruption and usa is paying the price. i told you so. now, trump of course is coming off a campaign tour from out west where he took aim against undocumented immigrants and the mexi

tonight an international manhunt is under way for joaquin guzman, nicknamed el chapo. one american city today named him public enemy number one. as a former u.s. drug enforcement official put it bluntly today, if guzman isn't caught within 48 hours, we may never find him again. the latest on the hunt tonight from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: when joaquin guzman, the notorious kingpin known as el chapo, was arrested in february of last year after a 13-year manhunt, mexican authorities bragged they would crack down hard on major drug traffickers, and promised he would never escape from their maximum security prison. but last night he did escape in a daring, highly sophisticated scheme involving a mile-long tunnel beneath the prison wall, a major embarrassment for the mexican government. >> they have no control over the powerful drug cartels that operate in their country, and they have no control over the system of justice and incarceration in their country. >> reporter: authorities say guzman was last seen on a security camera around 9:00 p.m. entering a shower area i

guzman nicknamed el chapo is responsible for a high portion of the drugs in the u.s.d into a lit and ventilated tunnel nearly a mile long emerging oninto a house on a farm. america shares mexico's concern. mexican authorities arrested el chapo in february of last year. a former drug enforcement administrator said he should have been extradited and housed in a u.s. prison. donald trump says i told you so. trump is making illegal immigration the focus of his run for a republican presidential nomination. trump tweeted about the escape. he wrote, quote, unbelievable corruption and usa is paying the price. candidate's criticism of the mexican government in the immigration battle has stirred up the gop field. wisconsin governor scott walker is hoping to make a flash himself. he'll announce his run for the white house later today, walker signed a new state budget yesterday. >>> the beauty pageant co-owned by donald trump is boasting its latest winner. miss oklahoma won the tight until baton rouge last night. nbc pulled the pageant after trump made those controversial comment

these maximum security walls proved no prison for joaquin guzman nicknamed el chapo who pulled off a storybook jail break for a second time. >> this is a huge failure. he's one of the most powerful drug cartel leaders in mexico if not the most powerful. >> guzman slipping through a small hole in his cell into a tunnel complete with ventilation, lights and a motorcycle on rails apparently used to help dig him out, escaping to freedom through a covert tunnel nearly a mile long that connects to this house. >> he's been notorious for his use of tunnels. sinaloa has built over a hundred tunnels between the u.s. and mexico. >> guzman spent 13 years on the run after a previous escape. mexican authorities paraded him in handcuffs after recapturing him last year. is he head of the mexican cartel behind one-quart of all the illegal drugs smuggled and sold in the united states his criminal empire is blamed for tens of thousands of deaths from overdoses and drug murders. >> chapo guzman is like the osama bin laden of drug trafficking. >> he's wanted on multiple drug trafficking indictments in th

watt keen guzman nicknamed el chapo or shorty, he slipped through a hole in his prison cell shower into a mile-long underground tunnel apparently built just for him. and it wasn't just a tunnel. it was sophisticated with lighting and ventilation, even motorcycle on a track. >> a motorcycle. no run of the mill escape and no run of the mill dangerous fugitive. he is believed to have ordered the murders of more than 10,000 people. he's the kingpin of a global drug empire that supplies much of the cocaine, heroin, and marijuana sold in the united states. joining us now outside the prison just west of mexico city, a prison with a giant tunnel underneath it, polo sandoval. good morning, polo. what's the latest? >> reporter: guys, good morning. very difficult to see that tunnel as it is underground, but it basically stretches from the prison facility that you see behind me and i'll show it to you as federal police continue on their patrols around the perimeter, and then extends just past really this road here up to a brick home that was under construction and that is where authorities say this

joaquin guzman who goes by the nickname el chapo, is believed to control most of the major crossing points for drugs along the border for years sending cocaine, marijuana and meth north to america. >> he's sometimes called the osama bin laden of drug trafficking. >> reporter: guzman was last seen on surveillance video on his way to a prison shower. when he failed to emerge guards rushing in to find an empty cell. the notorious cartel leader had vanished. in that shower area, a hole in the wall 20 inches wide leading to a vertical pipe 30 feet deep complete with a staircase, eventually connecting to a one-mile-long tunnel so sophisticated, it was outfitted with ventilation and lighting. eventually emerging in a nearby neighborhood. these developments a major embarrassment for mexico which denied the need to extradite guzman even as many expressed fears he would escape as he did in 2001. the u.s. attorney general saying america would provide any assistance that may help support his swift recapture. this latest breakout eerily similar to the system of tunnels el chapo used to avoid capture fo

guzman, better known for his nickname el chapo meaning shorty. this is not the first time he alluded police. he escaped in 2001 by hiding in a laundry court. it is extraordinary. i was shocked to wake up to this news. it took authorities 13 years to track him down after he escaped in 2001. they threw him back in jail last year. he's gone again. walk us through how he did this. >> twice from maximum security prisons poppy. today according to the mexican authorities, they didn't see him through video surveillance. they monitored him 24 hours a day. they got suspicious and went to see him. he was in a super tight area he did not have access with other prisoners. they found a hole in the shower. he was able to escape to a home underconstruction. it was a big tunnel. that's how he got out. >> when you look at his ability to rule the cartel the drug cartel responsible for so much traffic in the united states. >> i was reading that there was a hunger strike in that maximum security prison. it wasn't only him. it was most of the prisoners. according to d

guzman, better known for his nickname el chapo meaning

. >> once again, the exploits of guzman are frustrating the mexican police and military. his nickname el chapo means shorty. his legend is larger happen life. authorities were gathered at this non descript rural house beginning at mile long tunnel authorities say he used to exit the prison. >> from this vantage point it's easy to see how long that tunnel was. they dug out past that field, way out there on the right and kept going. that's how far they had to go underground to reach the cell. >> by leading the elaborate double, some suggests he didn't escape from prison he checked out. many suspect corruption was behind it. >> this is someone to hire the best talent in the world. he himself probably can't read and write. >> he once appeared on the billionaires list. he's thought to be violent as head of the sinaloa drug cartel. >> he fought against the cartels, the bloodiest battles mexico has seen. >> to some especially poor, he's seen as a benefactor, celebrated in folk songs. >> he's one of the all time figures to shower people with gifts, santa claus, role. >> he is reported to have been see

once again the exploits of joaquin guzman are frustrating the mexican police and military. his nickname, el chapo, means shorty. but his legend is larger than life. for most of the day authorities were gathered at this nondescript rural house, the beginning of the mile-long tunnel authorities say he used to exit the prison. from this vantage point it's easy to appreciate just how long that tunnel is. this house is where the tunnel began. they dug down from here and then went out across that green field, way out there, past that tall tree on the right, and kept going to that complex of buildings, that gray wall out there. that's the prison. and that is how far they had to go underground to reach chapo guzman's cell. by leaving through such an elaborate tunnel some suggest that guzman didn't escape from prison, he checked out. and many suspect corruption was behind it. >> this is someone who can hire the best talent in the world. but he himself probably can't read and write. >> reporter: guzman once appeared on the "forbes" magazine billionaires list. he is also believed to be powerful and violent.

manhunt going on right now for one of the world's most notorious drug lords, joaquin guzman, better known by his nickname el chapoa mexican prison over the weekend. he escaped through an elaborately built tunnel that extended a mile beyond the prison walls. el chapo is head of the sinaloa drug cartel considered one of the biggest and most violent in mexico. polo sandoval is joining us now from mexico. what's the latest first of all, in the search polo? >> well wolf this search shows no signs of stopping here on the outer fringe. we see mexican police coming and going from a staging area here outside this maximum security prison where joaquin "el chapo" guzman was able to escape from. what's very interesting here wolf and what we've noticed in the last few hours is just the sheer amount of traffic that's made its way past us mainly construction crews. and could be very crucial here as investigators have reason to believe that guzman had a tremendous amount of help from the outside, likely people who were digging their way towards that prison that nearly mile stretch tunnel that you'd be -- that runs underneath thi

el chapo" guzman was used in his escape from a mexico prison. >> in the far distance you can make out the max security prison from which the country's number one drug lord, joachin guzman nicknamed "el cchopo" escaped. that tunnel had ventalation lighting and even a motorcycle possibly to ship out the huge amounts of effort that would need to be needed to move create the tunnel. the director of the prison has already been final along with other officials and a full-scale manhunt is under way to catch guzman. really at this point its anyone's guess where he could be. >> nasa's new horizon spacecraft has made the closest visit ever to pluto. >> about the size of a grand piano, the probe was launched in 2006. it has taken over nine years and a journey of more than 5 billion kilometers to reach its goal, the with dwarf planet pluto. >> it was a real opportunity to test the equipment with the cameras. we have really nice images from jupiter. this will show 50 meters inside on the surface of were you toe. which is complete unprecedence. whatever this will show it will be an amazing discovery. >> traveling at 1,000 kilometers a minute, the equipment has sent back surprising images. ins

guzman the drug lord nicknamed the stocky one. he broke out of a prison through a mile long tunnel. mexico's president vowing to recapture el chapo. not the first time but second time el chapo has done this. >> reporter: you know what chris, guzman's escape is truly hard to believe. we are going to break it doun for you in a few seconds. what's happening here on the ground outside the mexican town you can see police have been on patrol around the prison perimeter itself. we know a partial perimeter has been set up around the town itself. at this point, chris, just over 30 hours into the search and no sign for this ruthless cartel kingpin. this morning, a massive international manhunt for one of the world's most powerful kingpins is under way. el chapo is a major supplier of cocaine and marijuana in the united states. it's citizen second escape. this time he busted out of a maximum security prison outside mexico city. they said guards performs a routine check and noticed he was missing saturday evening. at 5'6" mexican authorities believe el chapo spanish for shorty fit through a hole in the shower of his cell. beyond that a verti

el chapo" guzman. this recent photo released overnight to help with the search. offering a nearly $4 million reward for help with his capture. abc news learning the escape plan for the man whose nickname translates to the shorty was at least six months in the making. this half built house, his cover. under construction. the starting point of the mile-long lit, ventilated tunnel that would lead directly to his prison cell. this gas supplier for the neighborhood says he saw people building it very quickly. [ speaking spanish ] six to seven months that house was built. mexican newspapers now calculating that el chapo's engineers dug out 379 truckloads of earth to create that tunnel. the mysterious, some may say legendary escape catching people by surprise. he's just blocks away from that house. his reach seemingly knows no boundaries. his empire extends to several continents. in the u.s. alone, at last count, his cartel infiltrating at least 76 major cities. his cartel responsible for at least 25% of the illegal drugs in the united states right now. and here in mexico this morning, we have just learned that three top prison officials have been fired, including the director of this prison