السعودية ومصر والإمارات والبحرين تعلن قطع علاقاتها الدبلوماسية مع قطر Six Arab governments, including Egypt, cut ties with Qatar over terrorism and 'meddling'

أعلنت كل من المملكة العربية السعودية ومصر والإمارات ومملكة البحرين، الاثنين 5 يونيو، قطع علاقاتها الدبلوماسية مع دولة قطر.

Yemen and Libya's eastern government have joined Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE in severing ties with Qatar on Monday morning, citing its support for Islamist groups and attempts at destabilization within the region

وجاء، في بيان وكالة الأنباء البحرينية، أن مملكة البحرين تعلن سحب بعثتها الدبلوماسية من الدوحة، وإمهال جميع أفراد البعثة القطرية 48 ساعة لمغادرة البلاد، مع استكمال تطبيق الإجراءات اللازمة. كما أمهلت حكومة البحرين المواطنيين القطريين 14 يوما لمغادرة أراضيها.

Six Arab governments, including Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar early on Monday morning, with Yemen and Libya's eastern-based government among the latest to join the joint effort to isolate Doha.

وأوردت وكالة الأنباء السعودية أن الرياض تقطع علاقاتها الدبلوماسية والقنصلية مع قطر، ونقلت عن مصدر مسؤول قوله إن المملكة قررت إغلاق كافة المنافذ البرية والبحرية والجوية، ومنع العبور في الأراضي والأجواء والمياه الإقليمية السعودية، والبدء بالإجراءات القانونية الفورية للتفاهم مع الدول الشقيقة والصديقة والشركات الدولية، لتطبيق هذا الإجراء بأسرع وقت ممكن، لكافة وسائل النقل، من وإلى دولة قطر، وذلك لأسباب تتعلق بالأمن الوطني السعودي.

The nations have cited Qatar's support for Islamist groups and alleged meddling in the affairs of other states.

The Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE were among those cutting relations with Qatar, further deepening a rift among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Qatar is a member.

بيان قطع الرياض لعلاقاتها الدبلوماسية مع قطر

تعلن المملكة العربية السعودية أن قطع علاقاتها مع قطر هدفه "حماية أمنها الوطني من مخاطر الإرهاب والتطرف"، ونتهم قطر بإرتكاب "انتهاكات جسيمة سرا وعلنا لشق الصف السعودي".

أن الرياض انطلاقاً من ممارسة حقوقها السيادية التي كفلها القانون الدولي، وحماية لأمنها الوطني من مخاطر الإرهاب والتطرف، فإنها قررت قطع العلاقات الدبلوماسية والقنصلية مع دولة قطر، كما قررت إغلاق كافة المنافذ البرية والبحرية والجوية، ومنع العبور في الأراضي والأجواء والمياه الإقليمية السعودية، والبدء بالإجراءات القانونية الفورية للتفاهم مع الدول الشقيقة والصديقة والشركات الدولية لتطبيق ذات الإجراء بأسرع وقت ممكن لكافة وسائل النقل من وإلى دولة قطر، وذلك لأسباب تتعلق بالأمن الوطني السعودي.

"السعودية اتخذت قرارها الحاسم هذا نتيجة للانتهاكات الجسيمة التي تمارسها السلطات في الدوحة، سرا وعلنا، طوال السنوات الماضية بهدف شق الصف الداخلي السعودي، والتحريض للخروج على الدولة، والمساس بسيادتها، واحتضان جماعات إرهابية وطائفية متعددة تستهدف ضرب الاستقرار في المنطقة"، ومنها جماعة (الإخوان المسلمين) و(داعش) و(القاعدة)، والترويج لأدبيات ومخططات هذه الجماعات عبر وسائل إعلامها بشكل دائم، ودعم نشاطات الجماعات الإرهابية المدعومة من إيران في محافظة القطيف من المملكة العربية السعودية، وفي مملكة البحرين الشقيقة وتمويل وتبني وإيواء المتطرفين الذين يسعون لضرب استقرار ووحدة الوطن في الداخل والخارج، واستخدام وسائل الإعلام التي تسعى إلى تأجيج الفتنة داخليا، كما اتضح للمملكة العربية السعودية الدعم والمساندة من قبل السلطات في الدوحة لميليشيا الحوثي الانقلابية، حتى بعد إعلان تحالف دعم الشرعية في اليمن.

"الرياض إتخذت هذا القرار تضامنا مع مملكة البحرين الشقيقة التي تتعرض لحملات وعمليات إرهابية مدعومة من قبل السلطات في الدوحة".

و"منذ عام 1995، بذلت المملكة العربية السعودية وأشقاؤها جهوداً مضنية ومتواصلة لحث السلطات في الدوحة على الالتزام بتعهداتها، والتقيد بالاتفاقيات، إلا أن هذه السلطات دأبت على نكث التزاماتها الدولية، وخرق الاتفاقات التي وقعتها تحت مظلة دول مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية، بالتوقف عن الأعمال العدائية ضد المملكة، والوقوف ضد الجماعات والنشاطات الإرهابية ، وكان آخر ذلك عدم تنفيذها لاتفاق الرياض".

و أنه "إنفاذاً لقرار قطع العلاقات الدبلوماسية والقنصلية يمنع على المواطنين السعوديين السفر إلى دولة قطر، أو الإقامة فيها، أو المرور عبرها، وعلى المقيمين والزائرين منهم سرعة المغادرة خلال مدة لا تتجاوز 14 يوماً، كما تمنع، بكل أسف، لأسباب أمنية احترازية دخول أو عبور المواطنين القطريين إلى المملكة العربية السعودية، وتمهل المقيمين والزائرين منهم مدة 14 يوماً للمغادرة، مؤكدة التزامها وحرصها على توفير كل التسهيلات والخدمات للحجاج والمعتمرين القطريين".

و أن "المملكة العربية السعودية تؤكد أنها صبرت طويلاً رغم استمرار السلطات في الدوحة على التملص من التزاماتها، والتآمر عليها، حرصاً منها على الشعب القطري الذي هو امتداد طبيعي وأصيل لإخوانه في المملكة، وجزء من أرومتها، وستظل المملكة سنداً للشعب القطري الشقيق وداعمة لأمنه واستقراره بغض النظر عما ترتكبه السلطات في الدوحة من ممارسات عدائية".

The move began on Monday morning with Bahrain announcing that it was cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar and closing all transport links, according to Bahrain's state news agency. Bahrain cited alleged meddling in its internal affairs by Qatar.

Bahrain's action was followed by GCC ally Saudi Arabia, which said it was cutting ties on the grounds of "protection of national security", as announced by the Saudi state news agency.

ولم تمض دقائق حتى اتخذت القاهرة قرارا مشابها، يرتكز على ما تقول إنه دعم الدوحة للتنظيمات الإرهابية وتعزيزها بذور الفتنة والانقسام داخل المجتمعات العربية. وذلك وفق بيان صدر عن الخارجية المصرية.

The the SPA news agency said that Qatar “embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly.”

The UAE, Yemen and Egypt then followed suit, with the eastern-based government of war-torn Libya finally joining the diplomatic action to isolate Qatar.

Egypt announced the closure of its airspace and seaports for all Qatari transportation to protect its national security, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

ثم سرعان ما أعلنت أبوظبي تأييد قرارات الدول السابقة ذكرها، فقررت بدورها إغلاق كافة المنافذ البحرية والجوية أمام الحركة القادمة والمغادرة إلى قطر خلال 24 ساعة.

وقالت وكالة أنباء الإمارات، على حسابها في موقع "تويتر": "الإمارات، تقرر قطع العلاقات مع قطر، بما فيها العلاقات الدبلوماسية وإمهال البعثة الدبلوماسية القطرية 48 ساعة لمغادرة البلاد".

وأضافت أن "الإمارات تقرر منع دخول وعبور المواطنين القطريين إلى الدولة... الإمارات تمنع المواطنين الإماراتيين من السفر إلى دولة قطر والإقامة فيها والمرور عبرها".

"Qatar's policy threatens Arab national security and sows the seeds of strife and division within Arab societies according to a deliberate plan aimed at the unity and interests of the Arab nation," the statement read.

Egypt accused the Gulf Arab state of supporting "terrorist" organisations, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

Yemen also cut ties with Qatar, saying it supported the decision by the Saudi-led coalition to end Qatar's participation in the war there. The government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi said it severed ties with Qatar in part over is support of extremist groups in Yemen "in contradiction with the goals announced by the countries supporting the legitimate government."

Saudi Arabia also said Qatari troops would be pulled from the ongoing war in Yemen.

إضافة إلى ما سبق، أعلنت السعودية والبحرين إنهاء مشاركة القطريين في قوات التحالف العربي في اليمن.

The move to isolate Qatar was joined by Libya's eastern government later on Monday morning, according to its foreign minister, Mohamed Dayri. The eastern-based government is aligned with military commander Halifa Haftar, with whom Egypt has joined in recent military operations against Daesh terrorist camps in Libyan territory.

Daesh is among the terrorist groups that Qatar is accused of supporting across the region.

Bahrain and the UAE announced that their diplomatic staff had 48 hours to return from Qatar.

تجدر الإشارة إلى أن الأزمة الخليجية اندلعت إبان نشر وكالة الأنباء القطرية "قنا" تصريحات لأمير قطر، الشيخ تميم بن حمد آل ثاني، حول إيران، نفتها لاحقا مؤكدة اختراق موقعها.

Travel disruption

The move to isoloate Qatar has sparked fears of widespread travel disruption, with flights among the most seriously affected.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE announced that their citizens would be given 14 days to make arrangements before a ban would be imposed on travel to and from Qatar.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad says it has suspended flights to Qatar. Etihad said on its website Monday that "until further notice" its last flights would leave early Tuesday morning.

ويذكر أن التصريحات التي نقلت عن أمير قطر، أثناء رعايته حفل تخريج الدفعة الثامنة من مجندي الخدمة الوطنية في ميدان معسكر الشمال الشهر الماضي تقول: "إيران تمثل ثقلا إقليميا وإسلاميا لا يمكن تجاهله، وليس من الحكمة التصعيد معها، مؤكدا أنها قوة كبرى تضمن الاستقرار في المنطقة".

Qatar Airways said on its official website on Monday that it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia.

Qatar is also home to the sprawling Al-Udeid Air Base, which is home to the US military's Central Command and some 10,000 American troops, although no announcements have been made on the future of the US military presence there.

قطر تصدر بيانا حول إجراءات دول عربية ضدها

تعرب وزارة الخارجية القطرية عن أسفها لقرار السعودية والإمارات والبحرين قطع العلاقات مع الإمارة، معتبرة أن هذه الإجراءات غير مبررة وتقوم على مزاعم وادعاءات لا أساس لها من الصحة.

وتضيف وزارة الخارجية، في بيان اليوم بتاريخ الاثنين 5 يونيو ، أن هذه الإجراءات لن تؤثر على سير الحياة الطبيعي للمواطنين والمقيمين، مؤكدة أن قطر ستسعى لإفشال محاولات التأثير على المجتمع والإقتصاد القطريين.

'Unjustified' action

Qatar responded angrily to the joint action to isolate it, describing the move as "unjustified" and aimed at putting Doha under political "guardianship".

"The measures are unjustified and are based on false and baseless claims," the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The aim is clear, and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its [Qatar's] sovereignty as a state," it added.

While many Arab media outlets are reporting the developments as a response to Qatar's support for terroism, the Al-Jazeera news organization, which is owned by Qatar, has explained the dispute as stemming from a purported hack of Qatar's state-run news agency.

On 23 May, news emerged that the website and social media accounts of the Qatar News Agency had been hacked, allegedly carrying "fake news" reports relating to Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

وتقول وزارة الخارجية، في بيانها اليوم : "لقد تعرضت دولة قطر إلى حملة تحريض تقوم على افتراءات وصلت حد الفبركة الكاملة، ما يدل على نوايا مبيته للإضرار بالدولة، علما بأن دولة قطر عضو فاعل في مجلس التعاون الخليجي وملتزمة بميثاقه وتحترم سيادة الدول الأخرى ولا تتدخل في شؤونها الداخلية كما تقوم بواجباتها في محاربة الإرهاب والتطرف".

قطر تعرب عن أسفها لقرارات الجميع عــدا ""المستهدفة مصــر""

Muslim Brotherhood

Qatar has long faced criticism from its Arab neighbors over its support of Islamists. The chief worry among them is the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist political group outlawed by Egypta, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia fell out with Qatar over its backing of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, a Brotherhood member.

In March 2014, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar over the rift.

Eight months later, they returned their ambassadors as Qatar forced some Brotherhood members to leave the country and quieted others. However, the 2014 crisis did not see a land and sea blockade as threatened now.

In the time since, Qatar repeatedly and strongly denied it funds extremist groups.

However, it remains a key financial patron of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and has been the home of exiled Hamas official Khaled Mashaal since 2012.

Western officials also have accused Qatar of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like al-Qaida's branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.

The crisis also comes after US President Donald Trump's recent visit to Saudi Arabia for a summit with Arab leaders.

At that Saudi conference, Trump met with Qatar's ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

"We are friends, we've been friends now for a long time, haven't we?" Trump asked at the meeting. "Our relationship is extremely good."

وأضاف البيان: "من الواضح أن الحملة الإعلامية فشلت في اقناع الرأي العام في المنطقة وفي دول الخليج بشكل خاص وهذا ما يفسر التصعيد المتواصل".

وتابعت الوزارة في بيانها: "إن اختلاق أسباب لاتخاذ إجراءات ضد دولة شقيقة في مجلس التعاون لهو دليل ساطع على عدم وجود مبررات شرعية لهذه الإجراءات التي اتخذت بالتنسيق مع مصر والهدف منها واضح وهو فرض الوصاية على الدولة وهذا بحد ذاته انتهاك لسيادتها كدولة وهو أمر مرفوض قطعيا".

As many as 128 dead in string of ‪#‎Paris‬ attacks, deadliest since World War II

Mourners leave candles outside of the Carillon bar in the 10th district of Paris on November 14, 2015, following a series of attacks in and around the city

A series of attacks targeting young concert-goers and Parisians enjoying a Friday night out at popular nightspots killed as many as 128 people in the deadliest violence to strike France since World War II. President Francois Hollande pledged that France would stand firm against what he called terrorism.

The worst carnage was at a concert hall hosting an American rock band, where scores of people were held hostage and attackers hurled explosives at their captives. Police who stormed the building, killing three attackers, encountered a bloody scene of horror inside.

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said as many as five attackers may have been killed, though it was not clear how many there were altogether and how many were still at large. Authorities said the death toll at the six sites could exceed 128.

Hollande declared a state of emergency and announced that he was closing the country's borders. The violence spread fear through the city and exceeded the horrors of the Charlie Hebdo attack just 10 months ago.

In addition to the deaths at the concert hall, a police official said 11 people were killed in a Paris restaurant in the 10th arrondissement and other officials said at least three people died when bombs went off outside a stadium.

All of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named in the quickly moving investigation.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, and no clear picture of how many attackers were involved and if any were on the run. Jihadists on Twitter immediately praised the attack and criticized France's military operations against Islamic State extremists.

Hollande, who had to be evacuated from the stadium when the bombs went off outside, said in a televised address that the nation would stand firm and united.

"This is a terrible ordeal that again assails us," he said. "We know where it comes from, who these criminals are, who these terrorists are."

State of emergency declared in Paris

U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters in Washington, called the attacks on Paris "outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians" and vowed to do whatever it takes to help bring the perpetrators to justice. He called the attacks a "heartbreaking situation" and an "attack on all of humanity."

Earlier Friday, two explosions were heard outside the Stade de France stadium north of Paris during a France-Germany exhibition soccer game. A police union official said there were two suicide attacks and a bombing that killed at least three people.

The official, Gregory Goupil of the Alliance Police Nationale, whose region includes the area of the stadium, said explosions went off simultaneously near two entrances and a McDonalds.

An Associated Press reporter in the stadium Friday night heard two explosions loud enough to penetrate the sounds of cheering fans. Sirens were immediately heard, and a helicopter was circling overhead.

The attack comes as France has heightened security measures ahead of a major global climate conference that starts in two weeks, out of fear of violent protests and potential terrorist attacks.

Hollande canceled a planned trip to this weekend's G-20 summit in Turkey, which was to focus in large part on growing fears of terrorism carried out by Islamic extremists.

Emilio Macchio, from Ravenna, Italy, was at the Carillon restaurant that was targeted, having a beer on the sidewalk, when the shooting started. He said he didn't see any gunmen or victims, but hid behind a corner, then ran away.

"It sounded like fireworks," he said.

France has been on edge since January, when Islamic extremists attacked the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which had run cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and a kosher grocery. Twenty people died, including the three attackers.

The Charlie Hebdo attackers claimed links to extremists in Yemen, while the kosher market attacker claimed ties to the Islamic State group.

This time, they targeted young people enjoying a rock concert and ordinary city residents enjoying a Friday night out.

One of at least two restaurants targeted Friday, Le Carillon, is in the same general neighborhood as the Charlie Hebdo offices, as is the Bataclan, among the best-known venues in eastern Paris, near the trendy Oberkampf area known for a vibrant nightlife. The California-based band Eagles of Death Metal was scheduled to play there Friday night.

The country has seen several smaller-scale attacks or attempts since, including an incident on a high-speed train in August in which American travelers thwarted an attempted attack by a heavily armed man.

France's military is bombing Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq and fighting extremists in Africa, and extremist groups have frequently threatened France in the past.

French authorities are particularly concerned about the threat from hundreds of French Islamic radicals who have travelled to Syria and returned home with skills to stage violence.

Though who was responsible for Friday night's violence remained a mystery, the Islamic State is "clearly the name at the top of everyone's list," Brian Michael Jenkins, a terrorism expert and senior adviser to the president of RAND Corp., said.

Jenkins said the tactic used — "multiple attackers in coordinated attacks at multiple locations" — echoed recommendations published in extremist group's online magazine, Dabbiq, over the summer.

"The big question on everyone's mind is, were these attackers, if they turn out to be connected to one of the groups in Syria, were they homegrown terrorists or were they returning fighters from having served" with the Islamic State group, Jenkins said. "That will be a huge question."

Drug lord 'El Chapo' Guzman's dramatic escape - هروب أكبر تاجر مخدرات في العالم من السجن بالمكسيك

The Mexican Shawshank Redemption: Drug lord 'El Chapo' Guzman's dramatic escape

Joaquin Guzman (C) is escorted by soldiers during a presentation at the Navy's airstrip in Mexico City in this February 22, 2014 file photo. Mexico's most notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has escaped from his high security prison in central Mexico, the country's national security commission (CNS) said on July 12, 2015.

ذكرت صحيفة ديلي ميل البريطانية، أن رئيس عصابة مخدرات في المكسيك هرب من السجن للمرة الثانية على الرغم من الحراسة المشددة.

Mexico mounted an all-out manhunt Sunday for its most powerful drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who escaped from a maximum security prison through a 1.5-kilometer (1 mile) tunnel from a small opening in the shower area of his cell, according to the country's top security official.

وأشارت الصحيفة إلى هروب خواكين جوزمان الذي يلقب بـ" أل تشابو" من السجن من خلال شبكة الأنفاق المعقدة والهروب بدراجة بخارية واستخدم خزانات الأكسجين والمصابيح الكهربائية التي تضع للطوارئ في الأنفاق.

The elaborate underground escape route, built allegedly without the detection of authorities, allowed Guzman to do what Mexican officials promised would never happen after his re-capture last year — slip out of one of the country's most secure penitentiaries for the second time.

وأوضحت الصحيفة إن الشرطة قامت بتفتيش منزل في آخر الأنفاق اعتقد أنه تواجد فيه ولكن لم يعثروا على شيء، وتم وقف جميع الرحلات للطيران في مطار تولوكا القريب من السجن في المكسيك.

"This represents without a doubt an affront to the Mexican state," said President Enrique Pena Nieto, speaking during a previously scheduled trip to France. "But I also have confidence in the institutions of the Mexican state ... that they have the strength and determination to recapture this criminal."

وأضافت الصحيفة إن جوزمان آخر مرة شهد فيها وهو في غرفة الاستحمام ثم اختفت صورته من على كاميرات المراقبة ووجد حفرة 20×20 سم، في غرفته هرب من خلالها إلى النفق وعثر على بعض المواد التي استخدمها في هروبه من السجن الذي يقع في غرب المكسيك.

If Guzman is not caught immediately, the drug lord will likely be back in full command and control of the Sinaloa Cartel in 48 hours, said Michael S. Vigil, a retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief of international operations.

ولفتت الصحيفة إلى أن جوزمان هرب من السجن في عام 2001، وفي عام 2014 ألقي القبض عليه وهرب منه للمرة الثانية ويجري التحقيق مع 18 حارس من حراس السجن ويعتقد أنه دفع مليار دولار لهروبه من السجن

"We may never find him again," he said. "All the accolades that Mexico has received in their counterdrug efforts will be erased by this one event."

ويمثل هروبه إحراج كبير للرئيس المكسيكي أنريكي بينا نيتو، وعرضت الولايات المتحدة تقديم المساعدة للمكسيك لإلقاء القبض على رجل العصابات أل تشابو.

Thirty employees from various part of the Altiplano prison, 55 miles (90 kilometers) west of Mexico City, have been taken in for questioning, according to the federal Attorney General's Office.

A manhunt began immediately late Saturday for Guzman, whose cartel is believed to control most of the major crossing points for drugs at the U.S. border with Mexico.

Guatemala's Interior Ministry said a special task force of police and soldiers were watching Mexico's southern border for any sign of fugitive drug lord.

To the north, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch issued a statement offering "any assistance that may help support his swift recapture,"

Associated Press journalists near Altiplano saw the roads were being heavily patrolled by federal police, with numerous checkpoints and a Blackhawk helicopter flying overhead.

Flights were also suspended at Toluca's international airport near the penitentiary in the State of Mexico, and civil aviation hangars were being searched.

Guzman was last seen about 9 p.m. in the shower area of his cell, according to a statement from the National Security Commission. After a time, he was lost by the prison's security camera surveillance network. Upon checking his cell, authorities found it empty and a 20-by-20-inch (50-by-50 centimeter) hole near the shower.

Guzman's escape is a major embarrassment to the Pena Nieto administration, which had received plaudits for its aggressive approach to top drug lords. Since the government took office in late 2012, Mexican authorities have nabbed or killed six of them, including Guzman.

Guzman faces multiple federal drug trafficking indictments in the U.S. as well as Mexico, and was on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's most-wanted list.

After Guzman was arrested on Feb. 22, 2014, the U.S. said it would file an extradition request, though it's not clear if that happened.

The Mexican government at the time vehemently denied the need to extradite Guzman, even as many expressed fears he would escape as he did in 2001 while serving a 20-year sentence in the country's other top-security prison, Puente Grande, in the western state of Jalisco.

Former Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam told the AP earlier this year that the U.S. would get Guzman in "about 300 or 400 years" after he served time for all his crimes in Mexico.

He dismissed concerns that Guzman could escape a second time. That risk "does not exist," Murillo Karam said.

"It wasn't overconfidence; it was Mexican judicial nationalism," said Raul Benitez, a security expert at Mexico's National Autonomous University. "First he had to pay his debt in Mexico and then in the U.S. Now it's very evident that it was a mistake."

It was difficult to believe that such an elaborate structure could have been built without the detection of authorities, though photographs show the corrections facility surrounded by construction, with large open ditches and lots of metal drainage pipes that could have camouflaged such a project.

Guzman dropped by ladder into a hole 10 meters (30 feet) deep that connected with a tunnel about 1.7 meters (5 feet-6 inches) high that was fully ventilated and had lighting, Rubido said.

Authorities also found tools, oxygen tanks and a motorcycle adapted to run on rails that they believe was used to carry dirt out and tools in during the construction.

The tunnel terminated in a half-built house in a farm field, according to radio transmissions among authorities, who cordoned off the structure that sits atop a small rise with a clear view of the prison. They would not confirm the location of the end of the tunnel directly to the AP.

A 74-year-old rancher whose home is about 400 yards (meters) from the cordoned property said he had seen a couple in their 30s start building on the property about a year ago. He did not want to be named for safety reasons. He said they were very friendly and not from the area.

"One day my cows made it over to the house and I didn't see anything strange," said the rancher, whose home sits between the prison and the other property.

Guzman's cartel is known for building elaborate tunnels beneath the Mexico-U.S. border to transport cocaine, methamphetamines and marijuana, with ventilation, lighting and even railcars to easily move products.

He was first caught by authorities in Guatemala in 1993, extradited and sentenced to 20 years in prison on drug-trafficking-related charges.

Many accounts say he escaped in 2001 in a laundry cart, although there have been several versions of how he got away. What is clear is that he had help from prison guards, who were prosecuted and convicted.

Guzman was finally re-captured in February 2014 after eluding authorities for days across his home state of Sinaloa.

Born 58 years ago, according to Interpol, he and allies took control of the Sinaloa faction when a larger syndicate began to fall apart in 1989.

During his first stint as a fugitive, Guzman transformed himself into arguably the most powerful drug trafficker in the world. His fortune was estimated at more than $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine, which listed him among the "World's Most Powerful People," ranked above the presidents of France and Venezuela.

He finally was tracked down to a modest beachside high-rise in the Pacific Coast resort city of Mazatlan, where he had been hiding with his wife and twin daughters. He was captured in the early morning of Feb. 22, 2014, without a shot fired.

Before they reached him, security forces went on a several-day chase through Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state. They found houses where Guzman supposedly had been staying with steel-enforced doors and the same kind of lighted, ventilated escape tunnels.

Even after his 2014 capture, Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel empire continues to stretch throughout North America and reaches as far as Europe and Australia. The cartel has been heavily involved in the bloody drug war that has torn through parts of Mexico for the last decade, taking an estimated 100,000 lives or more.

Altiplano, considered the most secure of Mexico's federal prisons, also houses Zetas drug cartel leader Miguel Angel Trevino, and Edgar Valdes Villarreal, known as "La Barbie," of the Beltran Leyva cartel.