A drug kingpin, awaiting extradition to the United States, escaped from a high-security prison in Colombia’s Bogotá and CCTV footage showed him nonchalantly leaving through an open cell door.
Juan Castro, one of the drug cartel Gulf Clan’s leaders, escaped last Friday. Accused of handling about 20 per cent of the cocaine shipments from Colombia’s southwest region, Castro had been imprisoned since May 2021.
CCTV footage released by Colombia’s prison service shows the open cell door as Castro easily walks out. A dog notices the movement and comes out of a door inside the cell to check. In another clip, Castro, who is also known by his alias “Matamba”, is seen passing through a hall dressed in a guard’s uniform. No one else is seen in the clips.
Watch the video:
🔴 En los videos se aprecia al poderoso narcotraficante salir por una reja que le deja abierta un inspector de apellido Jiménez ► https://t.co/66DoBnmIKk
📹: cortesía. pic.twitter.com/2iTgOgZYgQ
— EL TIEMPO (@ELTIEMPO) March 20, 2022
President of Colombia Iván Duque was quoted as saying by the BBC that he was outraged by Matamba’s escape and also announced a reform of the jail system. Citing prosecutor Margarita Cabello, the BBC reported that the director of the prison along with more than 50 prison guards on duty during Castro’s escape have been suspended. A prison guard was arrested for allegedly giving him guard uniform and leaving the door ajar.
This was not his first attempt at fleeing the prison. He was recaptured twice and in 2018, he even faked his own death as part of his plan to not serve the remaining sentence, the Daily Mail reported. Later, he became a high ranking leader of Gulf Clan in Nariño and narcotics investigators found out about his new identity in 2019.
He was caught last year from a luxury apartment in Floridablanca city during his birthday celebration.
