Video shows ‘El Chapo’ escaping prison through shower

A video released by the Mexican government Wednesday shows the exact moment notorious drug cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman broke out of his prison cell over the weekend.

Surveillance video from Guzman’s Mexican prison shows him pacing in his cell before walking into his shower area, the one blind spot in the camera’s field of vision, and disappearing.

The video adds new drama to the nationwide manhunt for Guzman, whose escape from prison Saturday night has roiled the nation and complicated the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico.

{mosads}According to Mexican authorities, the Sinaloa cartel leader slipped through a hole in the shower area at 8:52 p.m., squirmed into a tunnel and walked a mile underground to freedom.

The elaborate construction of the tunnel — which included lighting, ventilation and a track for a motorcycle seemingly used to bring in supplies and remove dirt during the digging — has increased the speculation that Guzman had officials helping him from inside the prison.  

The director of the prison and other employees have reportedly been fired in the face of Guzman’s escape, which is being treated as a national embarrassment for Mexico.

Guzman previously escaped from a maximum security prison in 2001 and was one of the most wanted men in the world before his capture last year.