AP
Ahead of Guzmán's recapture, the pair met in an unnamed Mexican jungle nearly three months after the Sinaloa cartel boss slipped through a hole in his cell's shower floor and down a mile-long custom-engineered tunnel system.
Once again proving he deserved the title of "master of tunnels," Guzmán's sophisticated subterranean network was equipped with all the hallmarks of his cartel's "narcotúneles" - a ventilation system made with PVC piping, arched ceilings, electric lights, and a motorcycle modified to run on rails.
Reuters
"A lot of people think that you have a shovel and you dig. That's not the way it works," Hobson added.
According to Penn's interview, Guzmán flew a team of tunnel engineers to Germany for three months of extensive training before he used the hidden passageway underneath Altiplano prison.
The entrance to the estimated $50 million (including bribes and construction) escape route was placed perfectly in the blind spot of his cell's only security camera, which investigators assert could have only been done with the collusion of prison guards and officials.
Mexico National Security Commission/Amanda Macias/Business Insider
Authorities believe López may have stolen a copy of Puente Grande's blueprints before leaving his job at the prison.
Considering both prisons are shockingly similar in layout, the stolen blueprints from 2001 would have tremendously aided Guzmán's accomplices in helping him escape.
"The tunnel makers may have also had the GPS coordinates for Mr. Guzmán's shower stall," The New York Times reports.
Google Maps/Amanda Macias/Business Insider