During her 27 plus years in various prison positions, there have been many complaints of bribery, corruption and extortion against her, including allegations of torture, forced prostitution and questionable deaths. (More here.)
She was the head of the prison in Almaloya in 1993 when El Chapo was arrested in Guatemala. She was the official who ordered him transferred to Puente Grande in 1995, from which he escaped in 2001. She was named undersecretary of prisons in 2008.
She became head of the prison system in July, 2014. After that, daily reports on El Chapo ceased. Violent incidents and riots increased.
So far, the investigation has focused on those in close physical proximity to El Chapo's cell and those responsible for monitoring and security. It will be interesting to see what the next stage brings. Will they find a link to Damaso Lopez-Nunez, the prison official linked to his first escape who later became a high ranking member of Sinaloa and partner of El Chapo? Or to Zambada-Garcia? I could be wrong, but I don't think El Chapo's sons are capable of arranging for his most recent escape on their own.
Here's the full list of the 13 arrested:
- Celina Oseguera Parra
- Leonor Valencia García
- Valentín Cárdenas Lerma
- Roberto Cruz Bernal
- Jaime Galindo Hernández
- Oswaldo Gastón Veytla Rodríguez
- Miguel Ángel Flores Mirafuentes
- Agustín Jiménez Molina
- Herminio González Albarrán
- Miguel Ángel Cortés Carrillo
- Erick Sorcia Martínez
- Arturo Hernández Hernández
- Reyes Amyr Mota Carrillo