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The Mexican government announced today that will close the federal prison of “Puente Grande”, which gained notoriety because drug lord Joaquín ”El Chapo” Guzmán escaped from it in 2001.
The prison was known for having such lax security standards that it earned the nickname “Big Door.”
The federal Public Security Secretariat did not disclose a specific reason for the closure, but indicated that it is part of a modernization plan with the aim of guaranteeing the rights and rehabilitation of inmates.
The agency said Monday that all inmates currently inside the prison will be transferred to other prisons. The complex, located near the city of Guadalajara, also houses at least one other state prison, which is unknown if it will remain in operation.
Guzmán was serving a 20-year sentence when he escaped from prison in 2001, allegedly hiding in a laundry cart. According to other accounts, he simply bribed the prison staff and walked out the door.
Guzmán was a fugitive for another 13 years before being arrested again and escaping from another Mexican jail, this time through a tunnel. He was eventually arrested and extradited to the United States in 2017, where he was sentenced to life in prison in 2019.
However, the Puente Grande complex continued to make the news earlier this year. In May, some inmates staged a fight with blows and firearms, which left seven inmates dead and nine injured.
The authorities did not explain how the inmates had access to two pistols that were used during the incident. Of the seven dead, three died from gunshot wounds and the other four from blows. Six of the nine injured had various blows and the other three had gunshot wounds.
The incident occurred after a baseball game inside the prison, but it is unknown if the game was related to the dispute. It was also not clear whether it was a confrontation between rival drug trafficking groups, as often happens in Mexican prisons.
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