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Associated Press

A group of California prisoners filmed a video message for Mexico’s drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, pledging to protect the captured drug lord and help him escape.
The YouTube video, which includes profanity, shows five men, whose faces were partially concealed with pieces of cloth, sunglasses and hats, standing inside a prison cell as they pledged loyalty to the notorious drug lord.
Escape from New York unlikely for Mexican drug lord
“We are the hitmen who are going to take care of him,” one of the inmates says in Spanish.
The video was shot in a privately operated prison under contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, agency spokeswoman Jill Tyson said.

“Upon learning of the video, BOP oversight staff on-site at the facility began working with the contractor to investigate the allegations of irregularities at the facility,” she said.
According to the bureau’s website, a contracted correctional institution in Taft is the only facility operated by a private corporation. The low- to minimum-security facility in Kern County has 2,175 federal inmates.

The men promised to help Guzman escape, saying: “We want to tell the people this: If you bring ‘el senor’ here and if ‘el senor’ asks us to free him, we are going to take him out immediately.”
The video began circulating online after Guzman was extradited from Mexico to New York on January 19 to face drug trafficking, murder, money laundering and other charges in six separate indictments. Guzman, who lead one of the world’s most powerful drug trafficking organisations, was responsible for funnelling cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and into the United States.
Among the indictments, the Sinaloa cartel leader faces charges of conspiracy to import and possess cocaine for the purpose of distribution in California.
It remains unclear whether Guzman would be transferred to a federal court in California – he faces charges in multiple judicial districts – or whether he would be sentenced to a California facility if convicted.

Nevertheless, the inmates in the video said they were ready.
During the nearly four-minute video, an inmate who called himself “Chuckie” and claimed to be the leader, insisted the tape was not a joke. To reinforce their point, the camera panned to a darkened prison yard and then to a common area that shows prisoners sitting at tables in front of a cluster of cells, or “pod”.
The men, who spoke only Spanish, claimed they were in control of the pod and then introduced themselves one-by-one.
The man who introduced himself as the group’s leader then claimed that the prison’s warden, guards and other authorities have “been bought”.
“In this prison, I run things,” he said. “Here, everything is controlled.”
The group’s leader alleged that inmates have smuggled mobile phones, female companions and drugs into the prison.
“Everything is ready for you,” he said. “What you say is the law. Here you have more than 3,500 soldiers.”

He claimed other inmates have successfully escaped from the prison.
Guzman is certainly no stranger to the art of prison escape.
He broke out from high-security Mexican prison in 2001 by hiding in a load of laundry. He remained on the run for 13 years until he was recaptured in Mexico in February 2014.
But Guzman didn’t remain in custody for long. In July 2015, he fled a maximum-security prison near Mexico City through an underground tunnel. He was captured yet again in January 2016 in Los Mochis.
In California, the Bureau of Prisons operates facilities in Atwater, Herlong, Dublin, Mendota, Los Angeles, Lompoc, San Pedro, San Diego and Victorville. High-security facilities are located in Atwater and Victorville.


‘El Chapo’ offered protection and help escaping by California prisoners in YouTube clip

Still from a YouTube video said to be taken inside a maximum security facility in California by imprisoned drug cartel hitmen. Photo: YouTube

From YouTube page: "hitman for the cartels in California maximum security prison send there message and protection to el Chapo compliment from the Mexican mafia"

Sean Penn roasted over  ethics of ‘El Chapo’ interview - but encounter was probably not  illegal

Actor Sean Penn (L) shakes hands with Mexican drug lord Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman in Mexico, in this undated Rolling Stone handout photo obtained by Reuters on January 10, 2016. The photo was taken for authentication purposes. REUTERS/Rolling Stone/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. MANDATORY CREDIT. WATERMARK ADDED AT SOURCE. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A newspaper shows a picture of drug lord Joaquin Guzman, aka "El Chapo", shaking hands with US actor Sean Penn (L), as seen at a newsstand in Mexico City, on January 10, 2016. The Hollywood-worthy recapture of "El Chapo" took a stunning turn Sunday as authorities sought to question Penn over his interview with the Mexican drug kingpin. A federal official told AFP that the attorney general's office wants to talk with Penn and Mexican actress Kate del Castillo about their secretive meeting with Guzman in October, three months before his capture on January 8. AFP PHOTO / PEDRO PARDO

Actor Sean Penn (left shakes hands with Mexican drug lord Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman in Mexico, in this undated Rolling Stone handout image. Photo: Rolling Stone/Reuters

Drug lord El Chapo’s sons likely behind violent ambush on Mexican military convoy that killed 5 soldiers

The ambush was allegedly organised to rescue a high ranking cartel member who was being transported to a hospital. Photo: EPA

Soldiers leave a private gated community hours after a military convoy was ambushed with grenades and high-powered guns, killing five soldiers in the city of Culiacan, Mexico, Friday, Sept. 30, 2016. Local military commander Gen. Alfonso Duarte said it is very probable that the attack was carried out by the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. (AP Photo/Rashide Frias)

Police investigators examine the site where a military convoy was ambushed with grenades and high-powered guns, killing five soldiers in the city of Culiacan, Mexico, Friday, Sept. 30, 2016. Local military commander Gen. Alfonso Duarte said it is very probable that the attack was carried out by the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. (AP Photo/Hector Parra)

elchap

Blow to US extradition hopes as Mexico charges El Chapo with cocaine trafficking

The mugshot of Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman, published on attorney general of Mexico's website on February 22. Photo: AFP

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman reportedly slipped through this tunnel in Culiacan to evade authorities before they captured the fugitive drug kingpin. Photo: MCT

A still grab from a video taken on February 22 by the attorney general of Mexico, of a car outside a house owned by El Chapo. Photo: AFP


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