The decision to extradite Mr. Guzmán is an about-face for the Mexican government, which once insisted that he would serve his long sentence in Mexico first. However, following a Houdini-like escape in 2015, when his associates tunneled him out of Mexico’s most secure prison, officials began to reconsider. Mr. Guzmán was the embodiment of an identity the country has fought to shed for decades. That was where Mr. Guzmán pulled off his most spectacular escape. He stepped into a shower in his cell in what was supposed to be the most secure wing of Mexico’s most secure prison.

Source: New York Times January 19, 2017 23:14 UTC