The Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 "Altiplano" (
Spanish: Centro Federal de Readaptación Social Número 1 "Altiplano") is a
maximum security federal prison of the
Secretariat of Public Security in Mexico. It was originally called the Penal de Máxima Seguridad No. 1 "Almoloya de Juárez", later renamed the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 "La Palma"[1] (Centro Federal de Readaptación Social No. 1 "La Palma"), before assuming its present name. This facility is located in the Santa Juana Centro neighborhood of
Almoloya de Juárez, in the
State of Mexico,[2] 25 kilometers (16 mi) from
Toluca.[3]
The prison was built between 1988 and 1990 under
PresidentCarlos Salinas de Gortari and received its first inmates in November 1991.[4][5] 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.[6] Therefore, the walls have been reinforced to as much as 1 meter (3.3 ft) 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 10 km (6.2 mi) 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 escaped through a tunnel.
Miguel Treviño Morales (known as "Z-40"): former leader of the
Los Zetas Cartel, currently transferred to the Federal Center for Social Readaptation (Cefereso) No.17, located in Buenavista Tomatlán, in Tierra Caliente, Michoacán.
Mario Ramírez Treviño (known as "El Pelón"): former deputy leader of the
Gulf Cartel, extradited to the United States on December 18, 2017
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-
Univision series, El Chapo, depicts
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán'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.