A leader of the Sinaloa Federation, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, escaped from the Altiplano prison in Almoloya de Juarez, Mexico sometime during the night between July 11 and July 12 through an underground tunnel. According to the National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido, a tunnel was discovered in Guzman's prison cell that connected to another tunnel approximately 1.5 kilometers long that exited into a lot in the Santa Juanita neighborhood. After failing to reappear on surveillance, authorities conducted a roll call when Guzman was reported missing. Mexican authorities are currently searching for him and the Toluca International Airport has been closed.

This is the second time Guzman has escaped from a federal prison in Mexico, the first time being on Jan. 19, 2001, from the Puente Grande prison. The criminal leader has previously been involved in several of the most violent criminal turf wars in Mexico, including his war with the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes for control over Ciudad Juarez that led to continual escalation of violence peaking in 2010. Prior to Guzman's Feb. 22 2014, arrest in Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, his criminal organization had been in the process of breaking down, with subordinates increasingly acting independently and at times even waging war with one another. The process accelerated after his escape. Now, the Sinaloa Federation has all but broken down into smaller subgroups in Chihuahua, Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur states. 

While Mexican authorities, along with U.S. counterparts, will undoubtedly continue to search for the crime boss, the escape will be a major blow to Mexico City's efforts to improve the country's image regarding corruption and insecurity. Guzman's escape likely means he will return to managing his, albeit substantially broken down, criminal organization from outside of prison. Nevertheless, his freedom, should authorities struggle to recapture him, does not necessarily mean the crime boss will begin consolidating control over Sinaloa based organized crime, nor that there will be a new wave of violence similar to the nationwide turf wars that occurred between 2008 and 2012.

Meanwhile the escape will certainly strain U.S.-Mexico intelligence and security cooperation. President Enrique Pena Nieto ordered an overhaul of Mexico's intelligence sharing relationship in 2013, requiring all U.S. intelligence and law enforcement personnel to coordinate with their Mexican counterparts through the Secretariat of Government. Though the decision did not hinder relations in the long term, the two countries have since had to readjust their policies. Guzman's escape will likely foster greater distrust by U.S. authorities and complicate coordination between the two countries in tackling Mexican organized crime in the coming months.