Drug lord escape not possible without inside help: Mexican official

Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman could not have escaped from prison without inside help, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said on Monday, pledging to bring to justice all those involved in the brazen scheme.

"Now is not the time to resign," Osorio Chong said at a press conference. He has come under fire for letting the world's most-wanted criminal escape under his watch.

Osorio Chong is coordinating government efforts to recapture Guzman, who escaped from a maximum security federal prison Saturday night, through a tunnel leading from his cell to a construction site more than a kilometer away.

The heads of two prison administrative agencies have been sacked, according to Osorio Chong, who nevertheless said all proper prison protocols and international standards were followed at the Altiplano prison in central Mexico State.

Guzman was able to take advantage of two "blind spots" in the 24-hour surveillance system designed to guarantee prisoners' rights, the minister said, adding video footage of Guzman's cell will be released.

The government is offering 60 million pesos (3.81 million U.S. dollars) for information leading to Guzman's arrest, said the minister.

On Monday, Osorio Chong met with National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido, led a work meeting with national Attorney General Arely Gomez, and met with governors of various states in an effort to coordinate the government's efforts to recapture the capo.

So far, the authorities have questioned 34 prison officials and 17 inmates in relation to Guzman's second escape from a maximum security facility in 14 years. Endi