The Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 "Altiplano" ( es, Centro Federal de Readaptación Social Número 1 "Altiplano") is the

maximum security Maximum Security may refer to: * Supermax, "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons * Maximum Security (comics), a comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics * ''Maximum Security'' (Tony MacAlpine album), 1987 * ''Maximum Security'' ...

federal prison (originally called the ''Penal de Máxima Seguridad No. 1 "Almoloya de Juárez",'' later renamed the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 "La Palma" (''Centro Federal de Readaptación Social No. 1 "La Palma"''), before assuming its present name) of the

Secretariat of Public Security The Mexican Secretariat of Public Security or Secretariat of Public Safety, also known as Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Public Safety ( es, Secretaría de Seguridad Pública, ''SSP''), was the federal ministry of the Mexican Executi ...

in Mexico. This facility is located in the neighborhood of

Almoloya de Juárez Almoloya de Juárez is a town in the State of Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Almoloya de Juárez. The name Almoloya comes from the Nahuatl, that is properly ''Almoloyan'', composed of: atl, "water"; molo "impersonal voice of moloni, ...

, in the

State of Mexico The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

, from

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

. The prison was built between 1988 and 1990 under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Carlos Salinas de Gortari Carlos Salinas de Gortari CYC DMN (; born 3 April 1948) is a Mexican economist and politician who served as 60th president of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. Affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), earlier in his career he wor ...

and received its first inmates in November 1991. Of significant concern to Mexican authorities is the risk that the prison could be attacked from the outside as part of an organized prison break. Therefore, the walls have been reinforced to as much as in thickness to discourage ramming. Furthermore, the air space near the facility is restricted, and the authorities claim that cell phone transmissions are limited within of the prison to stymie communications between the inmates and their colleagues outside. Additionally, armored personnel carriers are based near the facility to protect it during a potential assault. This prison was thought to be impenetrable until July 11, 2015, when

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera (; born 4 April 1957), commonly known as "El Chapo" (), is a Mexican former drug lord and a former leader within the Sinaloa Cartel, an international crime syndicate. He is considered to have been one of th ...

escaped through a tunnel.

Notable inmates

Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (born January 8, 1946), commonly referred to by his aliases ''El Jefe de Jefes'' ("The Boss of Bosses") and ''El Padrino'' ("The Godfather"), is a convicted Mexican drug lord Kingpin. He was one of the founders of th ...

(known as "El Padrino" and "El Jefe De Jefes"): The founder of the modern Mexican drug trade, former leader and founder of the

Guadalajara Cartel The Guadalajara Cartel ( es, Cártel de Guadalajara) also known as The Federation ( es, La Federación, link=no) was a Mexican drug cartel which was formed in the late 1970s by Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Rafael Caro Quintero, and Ernesto Fo ...

, one of the first Mexican cartels which was formed as an alliance of the

Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in il ...

, the

Tijuana Cartel The Tijuana Cartel (Spanish: ''Cártel de Tijuana'') or Arellano-Félix-Organization (Spanish: ''Organización Arellano Félix'', AFO) is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Founded by the Arellano-Félix family, the ...

, and the Juarez Cartel. The cartel had connections to the Medellin Cartel and the

Cali Cartel The Cali Cartel ( es, Cartel de Cali) was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca. Its founders were the brothers Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela and Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela. They broke away f ...

, and transported cocaine to the United States for them *

Rafael Caro Quintero Rafael Caro Quintero (born October 24, 1952) is a Mexican drug lord who co-founded the now-disintegrated Guadalajara Cartel with Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and other drug traffickers in the late 1970s. He is the brother of fellow drug traffi ...

(known as "El Narco de Narcos"): former drug lord of the

Héctor Luis Palma Salazar Héctor Luis Palma Salazar (born April 29, 1960), commonly known as "El Güero Palma", is a Mexican former drug trafficker and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. After the brutal murder of his family ordered by hi ...

(known as "El Güero"): former drug lord of the

: former drug lord of the

, extradited to the United States on January 19, 2017 *

Mario Aburto Martínez Mario Aburto Martínez (born 3 October 1970) is a Mexican man who was convicted for assassinating presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio in 1994.

: accused assassin of presidential candidate

Luis Donaldo Colosio Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta (; 10 February 1950 – 23 March 1994) was a Mexican politician, economist, and Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) presidential candidate, who was assassinated at a campaign rally in Tijuana during the Mexic ...

Miguel Treviño Morales Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales (born 18 November 1970), commonly referred to by his alias ''Z-40'', is a Mexican former drug lord and leader of the criminal organization known as Los Zetas. Considered a violent, resentful and dangerous crimin ...

(known as "Z-40"): former leader of the

Los Zetas Cartel Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscr ...

, currently transferred to the Federal Center for Social Readaptation (Cefereso) No.17, located in Buenavista Tomatlán, in Tierra Caliente, Michoacán. *

Mario Ramírez Treviño Mario Armando Ramírez Treviño (born 5 March 1962), commonly referred to by his aliases El Pelón and/or X-20, is a Mexican suspected drug lord and former leader of the Gulf Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. In the early 2000s, Ramír ...

(known as "El Pelón"): former deputy leader of the Gulf Cartel, extradited to the United States on December 18, 2017 *

Eduardo Arellano Félix Eduardo Arellano Félix (born October 11, 1956) is a Mexican drug trafficker, brother of Benjamín, Ramón, Javier and sister, Enedina, all drug traffickers. The Arellano-Félix Organization, also known as the Tijuana Cartel, has been responsi ...

(known as "El Doctor"): former leader of the

Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano (b. ca. 1977), commonly referred to by the alias El Ingeniero ("The Engineer"), is a Mexican suspected drug lord and former leader of the Tijuana Cartel, a drug trafficking organization based in Tijuana, Baja Cal ...

(known as "El Ingeniero"): former deputy leader of the

Dionisio Loya Plancarte Dionisio Loya Plancarte (born 21 October 1955) is a Mexican drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Knights Templar Cartel, a quasi-religious criminal organization based in the state of Michoacán. He is the uncle of Enrique Plancarte Solís ...

(known as "El Tío"): former leader of the

Knights Templar Cartel The Knights Templar Cartel (Spanish: ''Los Caballeros Templarios'') was a Mexican criminal organization originally composed of the remnants of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel based in the Mexican State of Michoacán. The Knights Templar Ca ...

Servando Gómez Martínez Servando Gómez Martínez (born February 6, 1966), commonly referred to by his alias La Tuta (The Teacher) for once being a teacher, is a Mexican drug lord and former leader of the Knights Templar Cartel, a criminal organization based in the sta ...

(known as "La Tuta"): former leader of the

Omar Treviño Morales Óscar Omar Treviño Morales (born January 26, 1974) is a Mexican convicted drug lord and former leader of Los Zetas, a criminal organization. He was one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords. His brother is Miguel Treviño Morales, a former lead ...

(known as "Z-42"): former deputy leader of the

Abigael González Valencia Abigael González Valencia (; born October 18, 1972), commonly referred to by his alias El Cuini (), is a Mexican suspected drug lord and former leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He was also ...

(known as "El Cuini"): former deputy leader of the

Jalisco New Generation Cartel The Jalisco New Generation Cartel ( es, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación) or CJNG, formerly known as ''Los Mata Zetas'', is a semi-militarized Mexican criminal group based in Jalisco which is headed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Me ...

* José Maria Guizar Valencia (known as "Z-43"): former top lieutenant of the

* José Antonio Yépez Ortiz (known as "El Marro"): former leader of the

Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel The Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel ( es, Cártel de Santa Rosa de Lima) or CSRL is a Mexican criminal organization from the state of Guanajuato. Founded in 2014, it was initially headed by "The Sledgehammer". They mainly earn their income from oil th ...

Daniel Arizmendi López Daniel Arizmendi López (born 22 July 1958) is a Mexican convicted kidnapper and serial killer. In 1998 Susan Ferriss of the Cox News Service wrote that Arizmendi was "Mexico's most notorious suspected criminal".Ferriss, Susan.Ear-cutter Arizmendi L ...

(known as "El Mochaorejas"): leader of Kidnapping express, a kidnapping gang *Various alleged members of the

: Jaime González Durán (known as "El Hummer"),

Nabor Vargas García Nabor Vargas García (born 12 July 1976) is a Mexican suspected drug lord and one of the founders of Los Zetas, a criminal group formed by former soldiers of the Mexican Armed Forces. He joined the Mexican Army in the summer of 1995, and served ...

(known as "El Débora") and "El Barbas" * Teodoro García Simental (known as "El Teo"): drug lord who broke off from the Arellano Félix organization *Various alleged

Zapatistas Zapatista(s) may refer to: * Liberation Army of the South The Liberation Army of the South ( es, Ejército Libertador del Sur, ELS) was a guerrilla force led for most of its existence by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolut ...

* Marco Antonio García Simental (known as "El Cris" & "El 8-9"): lieutenant in the Arellano Félix organization and older brother of "El Teo".

In popular culture

The 2017

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

series, ''

El Chapo EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

'', depicts

's incarceration and experience in the prison, and his escape through a tunnel on July 11, 2015, which disproved the assumption that the prison was impenetrable.

References

External links

*
CENTROS FEDERALES DE READAPTACIÓN SOCIAL
"
Archive

. *
Centro Federal de Readaptación Social N°1 "Altiplano"
COFEMER. {{DEFAULTSORT:Penal Del Altiplano Buildings and structures in the State of Mexico Prisons in Mexico

Notable inmates

In popular culture

See also

References

External links