The Mexican government wants to make sure you know that 'El Chapo' Guzman didn't escape again
According to Mexican news site La Silla Rota, Friday's false report was driven by a false story from February, a month after Guzmán was recaptured, which was reposted (citing the Associated Press) by Abcnews.com.co, a site that appears to be a spoof of ABC News.
The article posted on the Abcnews.com.co site quotes "Fappy The Anti-Masturbation Dolphin," who called Guzmán "brave" for "stopp[ing] all the masturbation at his prison."
It also quotes a "U.S. Marshal" who appears to give post-escape orders inspired by Tommy Lee Jones' character in the Harrison Ford movie "The Fugitive."
A discerning reader would likely notice all the issues with that story and conclude it to be false.
But the Mexican government - twice burned by Guzmán's brazen escapes - apparently didn't want to risk letting reports of Guzmán's supposed breakout spread.
On Friday night, Mexico's interior minister, Miguel Osorio Chong, tweeted a photo of Guzmán that appeared to show the kingpin in a bare prison room, seated at a table, as shadowy figures, likely guards, look on in the background.
"For the rumors, an image ..." Chong wrote.
At this time, however, Guzmán remains in a Mexican prison outside of Ciudad Juarez, where he is fighting extradition proceedings that are underway against him.