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Mexican Drug Kingpin, El Chapo, Escapes Prison Through Tunnel

Eric L. Olson

Eric Olson, Associate Director of the Latin American Program, is quoted about the influence of gangs in Mexican prisons.

Mexican Drug Kingpin, El Chapo, Escapes Prison Through Tunnel

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"It's shocking, embarrassing, a huge blow, almost everything under the sun," said Eric L. Olson, Associate Director of the Latin American Program at the Wilson Center who follows crime trends in Latin America. "It is almost Mexico's worst nightmare, and I suspect many in U.S. law enforcement are apoplectic right now."

"Mexico is going to be under increasing pressure from the U.S. in terms of extraditing these top people," he said.

Mexico has long struggled to reshape its police forces and root out corruption, but Mr. Olson said the prison system often takes a back seat as "the last thing in the chain of law enforcement." 

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Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more