Cali Drug Lord Escapes From Prison Santacruz Slips Out In Car Resembling Prosecutors’

One of the top three leaders of the Cali drug cartel escaped Thursday from a maximum-security prison in Bogota.

Jose Santacruz Londono, a kingpin in the world’s biggest drug gang, fled La Picota prison Thursday afternoon, said Miller Rubio, spokesman for the Prisons Institute.

Authorities believe Santacruz slipped out in a car that resembled one used earlier in the day by prosecutors. Prosecutors’ cars are not checked when they enter or leave the prison.

RCN radio said his absence was noticed at a 4 p.m. head count.

President Ernesto Samper called an emergency meeting of his ministers Thursday evening to discuss the escape.

The assistant chief of police led a team of officers, including an elite squad known as the Search Block, in an effort to recapture the drug lord. Police set up roadblocks in some areas and stepped up security at Bogota airports.

The national police chief offered a $2 million reward for information leading to Santacruz’s recapture, RCN radio reported.

During a three-month period starting last June, police put six of the seven leaders of the Cali cartel behind bars, including brothers Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, the cartel’s other top leaders.

The Cali cartel is responsible for most of the cocaine distributed in the world. Its former rival, the Medellin cartel, has dwindled in power. Its leader, Pablo Escobar, escaped from a luxury prison in 1992 and was killed by police a year later.