Las Vegas: Mob Museum opens show about Mexican drug lord El Chapo’s escape

It’s not only long-dead crooks whose crimes are recalled at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has joined the ranks of Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel.

The infamous drug cartel leader’s prison escapes earned him a display that opened Tuesday and will continue through July.

The centerpiece of the exhibit is a model that replicates the drug lord’s notorious 2015 escape from Mexico’s maximum security Altiplano prison, about 50 miles from Mexico City.

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who escaped from a Mexican maximum security prison last year, was arrested Jan. 8 by Mexican soldiers and marines.

(Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

The diorama shows the 32-foot shaft from Guzman’s cell into a tunnel nearly a mile long, through which he traveled on a motorcycle. Also shown is a second shaft leading from the tunnel’s end into another building, inside which El Chapo was reunited with his partners in crime.

Guzman was recaptured Jan. 8 after a gun battle with elite forces from the Mexican military. El Chapo may be extradited to the United States, where prosecutors in San Diego, Chicago and New York City want to put him on trial.

The exhibit also includes a video documenting Guzman’s life. It’s the second in a series of displays focused on organized crime in the 21st century; the first profiled the recent FIFA soccer scandal.

The museum is open daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Adult tickets cost $19.95 when purchased in advance online.

Info: The Mob Museum, (702) 229-2734

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