Reuters reported that Mexican authorities have offered a reward of 60 million pesos ($3.8 million) for information leading to the arrest of drug lord Joaquin Guzman.

Mexican police guard the house that had a tunnel connecting to Guzman's prison - Photo: Reuters

Pressure is mounting on President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration in its fight against corruption and its crackdown on the notoriously ruthless Sinaloa cartel led by godfather Joaquin Guzman.

Mexican Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio said on July 13 that there must have been collusion between prison staff and Joaquin Guzman in the notorious drug lord's second escape.

Previously, Nieto's administration had dismissed concerns that the drug lord known as El Chapo might escape again from Mexico's top-security prison.

Immediately after Guzman's escape, Nieto announced he would swiftly investigate and recapture the godfather. However, skepticism remained widespread among the Mexican public.

Reuters noted arguments from Mexican politicians that digging a 1.5km tunnel would create a lot of noise as well as a large amount of earth and rock to clear. The tunnel was dug precisely to Guzman's shower area in the prison.

To do that, a detailed design of the prison is needed.

"There must have been complicity. To be able to do something like that, you need a large number of elements such as materials, technology, and people," said Ricardo Pacheco, head of the Mexican House Judiciary Committee.

To date, authorities have questioned 31 prison staff members, including the warden of the prison from which Guzmna escaped. However, they have yet to question residents living around the prison.

(According to Reuters/TTO)