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Mexican President Says Drug Kingpin's Prison Break Is An Affront To Mexico; Donald Trump To Be Absent From Miss USA Pageant Tonight; L.A. Cops Looking For Risky Driver; Suicide Car Bomb Near U.S. Base In Southern Afghanistan Kills At Least 25; Woman Faces Second-Degree Charges For Throwing Water On Baltimore Mayor; Novak Djokovic Beats Roger Federer At Wimbledon Final. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 12, 2015 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST: The hunt for Yaser Said tonight, 9 p.m. on CNN.

We have so much more straight ahead in the "Newsroom" and it all starts right now.

WHITFIELD (VOICEOVER): Happening now in the "Newsroom", he's done it again. One of the most notorious drug kingpins in the world on the run after escaping from a Mexican prison a second time. The jaw- dropping details on how the cartel leader known as "El Chapo" got out.

Then, Donald Trump tripled down with another plan to tackle illegal immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP: So I had an idea. I think it's good. Every time Mexico really intelligently sends people over, we charge Mexico $100,000 for every person they send over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (VOICEOVER): One Republican rival says it's time for the Party to reject Trump or the Party's candidates will lose. We break it down with our political panel.

Plus, a car caught on camera driving in reverse on a winding L.A. road. The question - who's behind the wheel?

You're live in the CNN Newsroom.

WHITFIELD (IN STUDIO): Hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

So one of the world's most dangerous and powerful drug kingpins is on the run. Joaquin Guzman better known as "El Chapo" escaped from a maximum security federal prison near Mexico City. Guards discovered a hole in his cell this morning. The hole led to a roughly mile-long tunnel that had lights and ventilation.

Guzman is the head of the Sinaloa Cartel - considered one of the most powerful and violent in Mexico. It's also known for being a major heroin supplier to the U.S. El Chapo is wanted here on multiple federal drug trafficking and organized crime charges and there is a $5 million bounty on him.

CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez is following the story from Washington for us.

So what more do we know about the escape? How did it happen?

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Shocking in Mexico, shocking abroad that he was able to construct an almost mile-long tunnel under a maximum security prison without anybody noticing and that he was able to escape from prison and nobody noticed until he was gone.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

LOPEZ (VOICEOVER): This is how the Mexican government confirmed the escape of Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman from the Altiplano federal maximum security prison.

According to Monte Alejandro Rubido, head of Mexico's National Security Commission, Guzman received his nightly medication at 8 p.m. local time. Prison guards noticed later through the video monitoring system that followed his every move that he wasn't in his cell. Guards then rushed to the cell and discovered a rectangular hole in the cell's shower that led to a vertical tunnel with stairs and from there to the escape tunnel.

Ana Maria Salazar is an analyst based in Mexico and a former Pentagon official.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANA MARIA SALAZAR, FORMER PENTAGON OFFICIAL: Question, apparently, this particular prison is considered to be the most secure - one of the most, if not the most secure prison in Mexico and it had been evaluated by international authorities and had gotten a very good evaluation. It was considered to be very secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOPEZ (VOICEOVER): Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel is known for its expertise in tunnel building along the border for drug trafficking. The tunnel at the maximum security prison - 90 kilometers or 55 miles west of Mexico City - reflects that knowledge. 1500 meters or almost a mile- long from Point A to Point B, ventilation through plastic piping, electricity and lighting, and even a motorcycle-powered buggy in a very detailed work of engineering. The tunnel ended at a construction site in a neighborhood adjacent to the prison.

18 guards were detained and transferred to Mexico City for interrogation and Toluca's international airport was shut down.

It's Guzman's second escape from a maximum security prison - facilities designed with drug lords such as him in mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SALAZAR: One would have assumed that he would have been the most watched-over criminal in the world and apparently, that just didn't happen. This is a huge embarrassment for the Mexican government, obviously, and of course, it's going to raise a lot of questions as to what's happening with the Mexican criminal justice system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOPEZ (VOICEOVER): On January 19, 2001, Chapo Guzman escaped from the maximum security prison in Puente Grande, Jalisco in western Mexico. Back then, his plan was simpler. He escaped in a laundry cart and remained on the lam for 13 years until February 22nd, 2014 when he was captured in Mazatlan, Sinaloa apparently with intelligence provided by the DEA and the U.S. Marshall Service.

(END VIDEO)

LOPEZ: Now, Attorney General Loretta Lynch released a statement expressing her concern over the escape and adding, I quote, "The U.S. government stands ready to work with our Mexican partners to provide any assistance that may help support his swift recapture."

[16:05:10]

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on the other - is also calling for an investigation to see if any government officials were involved in his escape, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Juan Carlos Lopez. Thank you so much.

So this isn't the first time that El Chapo has used tunnels to elude authorities. El Chapo's cartel has such an elaborate underground system that they use a top engineer firm. Last year, our Nick Parker got a rare glimpse inside the drug lord's safe houses in Mexico where he hid after escaping prison back in 2001.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

NICK PARKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On this quiet residential street in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan with a school just across the street is one of five Chapo Guzman safe houses. We're going inside to take a look.

PARKER (VOICEOVER): Before we even enter in, cameras and reinforced steel doors reveal the priority of security.

PARKER (ON CAMERA): I think one of the first things that really hits you when you come in is just how modest and basic it is. A small little kitchen, some of the bed rooms here are pretty dingy. The marines tell us this was part of his strategy to have very modest accommodations that you could hide in plain sight. In almost every bedroom of the house, there are two TV screens - one for security and one for TV.

When you go into the bathroom, the picture of a normal house really does transform. Beneath this bath tub, a secret tunnel. So if you climb down the steps, you find yourself in the tunnel itself and you can see it's been quite carefully constructed out of wood. You have to crouch a little bit but you're quite mobile and there's an electricity system running throughout it. The nearest other safe house from here is three kilometers in this direction.

The constructed part of the tunnel ends here and if you go through this door, you find yourself in the sewage system of Culiacan - an ideal escape route. And the tunnel system comes out right here in another safe house just down the road. And as you can see, it has a very similar set-up to the previous one.

PARKER (VOICEOVER): In all the houses, evidence of life suddenly suspended. The minutiae's often interesting - a child's slide, Christmas decorations, and a fondness for mayonnaise.

PARKER (ON CAMERA): This safe house is perhaps the most significant of all of them. This is where Chapo Guzman escaped from when he was being pursued by Mexican marines. They broke down this door and found they had missed him by eight minutes. And this is where he fled to - through this bedroom and into this bathroom where as you can see, there is another escape hatch underneath this bath tub.

Mexican marines tell us they discovered this entire network of underground tunnels and safe houses when they arrested the head of Chapo Guzman's security and he gave them this information. It once again underlines the very central role of intelligence in the arrest of one of the world's most wanted men.

Nick Parker, CNN, Culiacan, Mexico.

(END VIDEO)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's now bring in a CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes joining me by phone.

So, Tom, this does kind of harkens back to the New York prison escape in terms of using an elaborate tunnel. This can't possibly happen without someone at that jail be complicit, right?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCMENT ANALYST (ON THE PHONE): Well, first of all, let's compare the different tunnels. I mean, you have one that guys used hacksaws to try to carve through concrete walls and steel pipes and you have another one that a professional engineering firm came in and essentially built an underground highway with lighting, ventilation, and powered-up motor vehicle inside of it to get him out and it went more than a mile underground. So that's first of all. Second of all, there's no need for him to try to seduce a female employee or make friends with male guards in that prison when all he has to do is threaten to kill every member of their family, extended family, and their extended families and they do it. So - or money or both. A guy whose net worth is $1 billion compared to Matt and Sweat who could barely rub two nickels together. So this is a huge difference and that's why even in Mexico's top most secure prison, if not secure, if you can't control the people that work there and keep them alive if they're trying to guard somebody like this. WHITFIELD: So, Tom, if El Chapo's cartel was known to be one of the most dangerous, one of the most influential, how concerned are you now that there will be renewed violence upon his release whether it be an uptick in the violence between cartels or in some other way?

FUENTES: I don't think there will be because he's able to control that empire whether he's in prison or he's not in prison. The prison doesn't actually diminish their ability to communicate (inaudible) and that's why the threat...

WHITFIELD: You believe he was still doing business from jail?

[16:10:01]

FUENTES: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's what a threat to employees of the prison is so real because he can snap his fingers and their entire family will be dead by morning, and not just dead, but horrifically tortured. So we're talking a different level of violence and crime that we don't see in this country. This is probably the head of the number one organized crime group in the world, again, with a net worth of over $1 billion. This is not a minor league criminal. This is as bad as it gets, if you will.

WHITFIELD: And what kind of resources do you now see being poured into looking for him, trying to recapture him?

FUENTES: Well, I think the Mexican government will try to do that and part of the reason why it's so embarrassing for them is that with each of the last couple of new presidents in Mexico, they've decided to basically kind of thumb their nose at the United States in a way and U.S. law enforcement, basically saying, "We don't need you. We can do this on our own." I know I attended meetings when I was still running international operations at the FBI where the Mexican government at one meeting said, "One of our biggest concerns are the number of U.S. law enforcement officers - FBI, DEA, and others - who are running around in our country carrying guns." And we're like, "Are you kidding? Guys like Guzman that have killed more than 10,000 people and you're worried about U.S. agents carrying weapons in your country?" I mean, that's kind of a mentality. And in this case, the U.S. wants Guzman in about seven judicial districts where there's dozens of indictments of him and offer this reward.

WHITFIELD: And so do you think that the U.S. will offer a new kind of assistance in this latest escape?

FUENTES: No. We can't - we can't offer enough assistance that they'll even take. If they'll take it, that would be great but (inaudible). The FBI - I think - has half a dozen offices in Mexico, DEA even more. Marshalls have offices all over the country. So there's a - there's a large number of U.S. federal agents in Mexico ready, willing, and able to help but the Mexican government - in a way - is too proud to take it to the extent that we offer. In addition, we offered to extradite him back to the U.S. for all the charges and for all the murders and trafficking he's done, he would most definitely get life without parole in U.S. federal prison and we can put him in the Supermax and he wouldn't be getting out and Mexico said, "No. You can't have him until our sentence runs its course so if you're willing to wait 300 years then you can expedite him back. Haha."

WHITFIELD: (inaudible) leave it there. Yes.

FUENTES: That's the kind of attitude they have - the kind of arrogance that they can handle this, they can handle him, they don't need to turn him over to the U.S. and that's why it's twice as embarrassing for them because they were so arrogant about the (inaudible).

WHITFIELD: And it didn't work. All right. Tom Fuentes, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:01]

WHITFIELD: A popular Rhode Island beach is open again after an explosion of sorts from under the sand sends - sending one woman to the hospital.

It happened in the Salty Brine beach in Narragansett and the blast was so strong that it actually threw the 50-year-old woman from her chair onto the nearby jetty.

CNN's Christi Paul has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (VOICEOVER): Rhode Island authorities have removed sand from the area, looking for clues after reports of a small explosion and the injury of a 50-year-old woman. But the exact cause is a mystery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY MOURADJIAN, DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: "Explosion" is the word that came during the initial reports. There's a - I can tell you from have personally witnessing the site that there appears to have been some ground disturbance there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL (VOICEOVER): The woman was sitting in a chair at the tide line. Witnesses reported a boom. The force pushed her up against nearby rocks and then she fell into the sand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOURADJIAN: There are fractures in this wet sand, the gaps that occur something like you would see when lightning hits a beach. There's definitely something that happened there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL (VOICEOVER): The state bomb squad and the state fire marshals' office are investigating along with the (inaudible).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF KURT BLANCHARD, RHODE ISLAND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICE: We have no indication that there's anything beyond - there was - there was some type of noise, there was some type of energy transfer. We have no evidence or indication that there was a device. This could be natural. It could be man-made. At this point, it's still under investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL (VOICEOVER): Nobody else was reported hurt. But the beach at Narragansett was declared off-limits for the rest of the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I literally just stood up and walked away from there. But it blew her right out of the chair. I mean, I've never heard of anything like that and I mean, we're at the beach all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much to Christi Paul there.

All right. Still ahead, Donald Trump refusing to tone down his rhetoric about Mexican immigrants and he says the majority of Americans are with him. We ask our political panel if he's right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:01]

WHITFIELD: All right. Donald Trump refusing to tone down his rhetoric and back down from his comments on immigration. Before a crowd of 5,000 in Phoenix, Arizona last night, the Republican presidential candidate said the United States should charge Mexico $100,000 for every "illegal immigrant they send across the border". And he says there's a majority backing him even if they're not speaking up and showing up at the rallies.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is live for us now at the White House.

So, Sunlen, who's this silent majority that he's talking about?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the voters, those people in the crowds that came out to see Donald Trump last night at that big speech in Phoenix last night suggesting that there is a certain number of people within the Republican Party's conservative base that are receptive to Trump's message on illegal immigration and certainly, Donald Trump capitalizing on that, suggesting that he's tapping into some of the frustration out there that are in voters' minds.

Here's what he had to say last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you see the kind of power that the silent majority has and the silent majority has a problem. They want to go out. They want to lead a good life. They want to work hard. They want to have their family. They want to - they don't want to be involved in coming here and waiting on a line for hours and hours and coming in and listening to Trump. But the silent majority is back and we're going to take the country back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And Trump continued that tough talk on immigration throughout his speech last night suggesting that he is not toning down his rhetoric and it comes after that barrage of criticism from many of his Republican opponents and many in Arizona state Republican Party - many of whom snubbed the speech last night and did not go to that speech.

We're also hearing today from Senator Lindsey Graham, one of his opponents in the Republican primary, who really had some tough words for Trump, saying that he's hijacked the debate over immigration reform and has become a wrecking ball for the Republican Party among Hispanics.

Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thanks so much from the White House.

All right. Let's talk more about this. Joining me right now from New York, columnist, Democrat and co-author of "The Party's Over", Ellis Henican, and Republican strategist and lawyer Brian Morgenstern.

All right. Good to see you back here. Thanks so much.

So, Ellis, you first. Who is Trump talking about? What's your interpretation of this "silent majority"?

ELLIS HENICAN, COLUMNIST & CO-AUTHOR, "THE PARTY'S OVER": Well, first of all, it's exactly the opposite of that. It's a noisy minority already, right? I mean, when you have 14 to 15 candidates in the race, if you could just get somewhere up in the 'teens, you can actually lead the pack. So this is a small but very noisy group that does not remotely reflect the Republican Party in general.

WHITFIELD: So, Brian, what's your interpretation? What does he mean? When he says, "These are people who want to go out, have a good time, but they don't want to stand in line to see Trump" - but what does that mean? Who are these people he's talking about, really? BRIAN MORGENSTERN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it harkens back actually to Nixon speech when he was advocating for his way of ending the Vietnam War and he encouraged people who were not protestors or very vocal participants to write their congressmen and their senators and advocate for Nixon's way of ending the war. And it worked. He engaged tens of thousands of people who wouldn't maybe necessarily have otherwise participated in the process. But I think today's silent majority refers to people who are fed up with the politicians that they're used to, who have ballooned the size of government domestically, who have staked out weak positions internationally. So they're looking for a strong authentic leader who, by the way, will have in his bouquet of issues border security and enforcing our laws.

[16:25:08]

And so, Trump is tapping into that sort of emotional response and I think that's what you're seeing now. But in these debates, we're going to see how this shakes out with which candidate actually is the true leader they're looking for as opposed to somebody who's been saying anything and standing for nothing over the course of a long career.

WHITFIELD: OK. Right now, Donald Trump is center stage. Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is hoping to take center stage tomorrow when he formally makes his announcement. He almost got on the stage this weekend, sharing the stage with Donald Trump because of this tweet that went out announcing that he was going to be in the race but then come to find out that was an accident, at least Twitter says it wasn't their fault. So what is going on here, Ellis? How does anybody like Scott Walker try to roll out he is formally in the race and really be on radar especially when Trump is dominating so much?

HENICAN: Good luck, Scott Walker, with that one. I mean, it's going to take a lot more than a Twitter glitch to elbow the Donald off the stage. I mean, the problem, really, guys, is that Donald is so loud, right, so domineering, sucks the air out of debate so much that it's hard to have much of an intelligent conversation until he runs out of gas.

WHITFIELD: And that's not possible, is it, Brian?

MORGENSTERN: Well, (inaudible) not anytime soon, at least according to Ellis. I think the voters are going to wake up a little bit faster. And look, a Twitter glitch is not going to get Scott Walker attention. Scott Walker's getting Scott Walker attention. He's been a pretty popular governor in a blue state. He's been elected three times in four years. There's something that voters connect with about him. They trust this guy. And so he's a legitimate contender and I think he'll get his fair share of a look from the voters.

WHITFIELD: OK. A flipside to that, you had Lindsey Graham who said earlier today that the Party needs to do something about either silencing or really rejecting - was his word - Donald Trump. When you talk about the field of other candidates trying to get the same kind of traction or at least some attention, even though Scott Walker has done well before he is officially running, it clearly is a big problem for the Republican contenders because now, they're all having to answer to whatever it is that Donald Trump is saying.

So, Ellis, it sounds like Donald Trump is really driving the bus for the Party? But what do they think can the Party do?

HENICAN: He is. Yes, he is. But there's an opportunity here for somebody probably at the first debate to be the guy who goes right into Donald's face and really get it to him. Maybe Chris Christie is waiting to do that, maybe it would be Scott Walker, but somebody's going to confront him and score an awful lot of points for doing so.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's - Brian, you've got any remarks on that or advice?

MORGENSTERN: Well, I think that, Ellis, that's kind of optimistic but if these guys get in his face, he's going to come right back at them and that's kind of his goal. He likes to get an emotional response from people.

WHITFIELD: And it sounds like that's what the other candidates are kind of afraid of. Nobody wants to get in that kind of catfight.

HENICAN: Yes. You've got to go for the bully though. Go for the bullies. Seriously, it's a whole...

MORGENSTERN: Bully the bully.

HENICAN: --lot smarter that way.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MORGENSTERN: Look, if somebody takes his lunch money, maybe we'll make some progress.

WHITFIELD: We'll see what unfolds this week. Ellis Henican, Brian Morgenstern, thanks so much, gentlemen. Appreciate it.

All right. Still to come, how the ruthless drug lord El Chapo earned a Robin Hood-like reputation and what it means for his latest prison break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:31:35]

WHITFIELD: All right, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, says the escape of notorious Drug Kingpin, Joaquin Guzman is an affront to Mexico. Guzman, who is better known as El Chapo, escaped from a maximum security federal prison this morning, just west of Mexico City. Guards noticed he was missing after discovering a hole in his cell leading to a mile-long tunnel with lighting and ventilation. Guzman is the head of what is considered to be the most dangerous and powerful drug cartel in Mexico, the Sinaloa Cartel, which is known for being a major heroin supplier to the U.S. Guzman, who replaced notorious gangster Al Capone as Chicago's Public Enemy Number one, is wanted in the U.S. on multiple federal drug trafficking and organized crime charges. Guzman also has a kind of Robin Hood reputation in parts of Mexico, and even has hit songs written about him.

CNN's Sara Ganim joining me now with more on this, and this reputation of being a bad guy and then also a sort of Robin Hood.

SARAH GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. Of course he is somewhat of a legend in Mexico. But there's no doubt that he's also a very dangerous man, leading the world's largest and deadliest cartel. A lot of the illicit drugs here in the United States, heroin, cocaine, even some marijuana, likely to have come from his cartel. Something interesting to note, his cartel is notorious for using tunnels to bring those drugs into the United States, specifically going right under the United States-Mexican border. And that, the use of tunnels, is how authorities say he was able to escape for the second time from a Mexican prison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They call him El Chapo or Shorty for his small 5'6" frame, but his legend is enormous. And now the world's most powerful and deadly drug trafficking kingpin has broken out of prison in Mexico, again. Joaquin Guzman is the notorious drug boss who runs the Sinaloa Cartel, widely believed to be the biggest supplier of heroin and cocaine in the United States. Authorities say this time, he escaped through a hole in the shower area of the Altiplano Prison.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tunnel leads to a vertical pass about ten meters deep, and it had a ladder and stairs. This tunnel has PVC tubing, ventilation and lighting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His latest escape, adding to El Chapo's legend. In Mexico, he's a towering figure of intrigue, the subject of books, songs, and folk lore, and he's wanted on both sides of the border. In the U.S., on federal trafficking and organized crime charges, his cartel, notorious for tunneling drugs under the U.S.-Mexican border. Born into a poor family in the Sinaloa state when the drug trade was evolving, Guzman amassed a powerful empire, one that he continued running from behind bars after his first arrest in 1993. His reputation only grew as he spent 13 years on the run after escaping from prison in 2001, sneaking out in a laundry cart in a plot that allegedly cost him $2.5 million in bribes. He was caught and rearrested just last year at this resort in Mazatlan, in his home state of Sinaloa. Now a massive man hunt for the cartel leader is underway get again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANIM: Now, Fred, officials here in the United States saying that they will help the Mexican authorities track him down, but unofficially, they are pretty upset about this. They had suggested, even asked, that he be extradited back to the United States while he was still in custody out of fear that he might escape again. The last time, he was on the run for 13 years in part because he was able to use those tunnels to get around. He also has a very large group of people around him protecting him from being captured. It was the DEA who actually was able to track him down after his last stint on the lamb using his cell phone ping. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Ganim thanks so much. Let's talk more about this. Let's bring in CNN Contributor, Casey Jordan, she's a Criminologist, Behavioral Analyst, and Attorney. Good to see you again.

CASEY JORDAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Great to be here.

WHITFIELD: So this is a pretty elaborate tunnel that we're learning about, with the ventilation and the lighting. Which would simply say this was in the making, this plan seemed to have been hatched maybe even before he entered that prison, or at least at the time of his booking. What do you think?

JORDAN: He has a history of this. It's not even startling. It's almost disturbing for how normalized this has become. That he pops up at a construction site a mile away. I wonder what the construction site was doing there. They were digging a tunnel probably for months, lining it of course with electricity and ventilation and everything.

[16:36:38]

I don't think anyone is really surprised. I mean there's -- the idea that it's an embarrassment or this escape is an affront to the Mexican government, I think almost is too soft of a description. It really is an indices that Guzman has normalized running a business from prison, to the point where he runs it while he wants to and he gets out when he wants to. There's nothing they can do to hold him.

WHITFIELD: And this planning to this tunnel, does it say to you that it was also done by perhaps even befriending some of the jail officials there, how complicit, how involved do you think they were in all of this?

JORDAN: They're clearly involved, but I think they're involvement has nothing to do with digging the tunnel. It has to do with simply looking the other way. The idea is that there's a video camera on his cell at all times, so that they're monitoring him. That's their high security. And yet, he was able to go into the shower and take a shower without anyone watching and without any video camera. I suppose in the interest of privacy, he argued that he didn't need to be watched.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Yeah, but except wouldn't they already know about all of the other, I guess, tunnels that were built in his kind of safe houses where lifting up the bathtub, and there's something about the whole bathroom experience for him, there's something about lifting up the bathtub, being able to go into a tunnel. So then if he's got this shower and there's no camera on that, that maybe that would be a place that he could get away. Why wouldn't they think about that?

JORDAN: It would be comical if it weren't so tragic. We know his tunnels were always in the bathtubs, in all of his houses that he had set up for this. He was on the run for 13 years. He was just kind of living in one place, all connected with an under ground set of tunnels for all those years. He didn't even have to kind of live in fear. The irony of course is that the hole through which he escaped was right in the shower. You would think they would be looking there as his escape route. Somebody knew about it and kept quiet. How long this had been going on, he's only been back in prison for a year. Maybe it took them a year to dig the hole, dig the tunnel, line it with electricity, and get a motorcycle to take the dirt out. But the plan was hatched before he ever went back to prison.

JORDAN: Gosh, and so now what about this whole Robin Hood reputation that he also holds? What's behind that? What would he do for people that some celebrate him?

JORDAN: He employs them at the very least. I'm sure he does things like buy them baseball fields and fund their schools, and other things to ingratiate himself to the various communities. But the mountain communities that grow the ingredients that make the cocaine and the heroin, they survive economically -- almost $30 billion a year in drugs comes out of Mexico. And when you think about how many poor people, especially rural, farming, agricultural people, that employs, they know what they're doing is wrong, but they also know without Guzman, they might be starving. So they see him as a Robin Hood, yes he's bad, yes he uses violence. But if you work for him, you can get rich or at least get by. And of course avoid falling in his disfavor. He's a violent man and he will kill you if you don't do what he says.

WHITFIELD: All right, Casey Jordan thanks so much. Good to se you again.

JORDAN: Great to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right, the Miss USA Pageant is tonight, but the show's Co-Owner Donald Trump won't be there. He tweeted he was going to be campaigning. Instead, it turns out he's not doing that either, so what's really going on?

And a driver cruising down or up, whichever way you want to look at it, down this winding road in reverse, narrowly missing several cars, the big question, who is behind the wheel?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:44:48]

WHITFIELD: Donald Trump will not be attending the Miss USA Pageant tonight. Earlier in the week, the pageant was on his schedule. But then yesterday, he tweeted, this saying "I will not be able to attend the Miss USA Pageant tomorrow night because I am campaigning in Phoenix, wishing all well." CNN Political Correspondent, Athena Jones is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where the pageant is being held. So where is he?

ATHENA JONES, ON TWITTER @ATHENACNN: Well, that's the question, Fredricka. We don't know the whereabouts of this Former TV Reality Star, who really hasn't been shying away from the media spotlight. You saw what he tweeted yesterday. I asked his campaign what he's up to on the campaign trail today. And I was told he has no official events, he's headed back to New York. Separately, we saw on the flight tracking website, FlightAware, that Trump's plane which took from Las Vegas, Nevada where he was campaigning earlier on Saturday, to Phoenix later on Saturday, that plane left Phoenix, Saturday evening and landed in New York early Sunday morning. So it's a bit unclear whether he was still supposed to be campaigning in Phoenix or if he's actually now back in New York. We don't know for an absolute fact he was on his plane. I've reached out to his campaign and they have not responded yet. As you mentioned, as recently as June 30th out on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, and in a statement he released, he said he was planning to be here to support these contestants. Of course Trump is half owner of this pageant. Clearly, he's changed his mind, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And Athena, the show will go on. It was going to be on NBC, Univision, but then that deal fell through. Now this pageant will be on the Reelz Network. How did this come about and what's really the story behind how that deal was made so quickly?

JONES: It's interesting that it was made so quickly. Within two days of NBC deciding to drop this whole pageant, they were in talks with Reelz. Reelz is a small cable channel, it only reaches about 67 million homes. That's a lot fewer than you'd have on a broadcast network like NBC or (Inaudible), which is of course the biggest Spanish language network in the country. But because Reelz is family- owned business, they were able to make this deal very, very quickly. I spoke with the President of the Miss Universe organization, who runs the Miss Universe and Miss USA Pageants. And she said it's the fastest -- the quickest TV licensing deal possibly in history. So they were able to do that. I should mention though that the Reelz CEO says this is not a political support for Trump. This is not a political move. They see this pageant as pure entertainment, an iconic American broadcast. And in fact, the CEO said he agrees with how NBC and Univision and Macy's have responded to Trump. He thinks that Trump's comments about immigrants were "ridiculous." So later tonight, we'll be watching to see who wins.

WHITFIELD: All right, Athena Jones thanks so much from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

All right, also tonight on CNN, a new season of Death Row Stories. The season premier features a case from Texas, where a mother is accused of killing her two young boys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Greg Davis was the Lead Prosecutor assigned to the case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only real announcement we made today was that the state will be seeking the death penalty in this case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Davis would only try Darly her for Damon's death, since victims under age six qualify for the death penalty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reason the state tries for only one murder, if she's found innocent, they can try her for the second one. And that's a way for the state to load up a double barrel shotgun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Watch Death Row Stories, hosted by Susan Sarandon tonight at 10:00 on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:19]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barb wire and machine guns. Welcome to Chicago. These are definitely some of the most challenged communities in America. Not a day goes by without the headlines being littered with deaths, shootings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was returning home from college. I went to go pick up my sister from school. Next thing I know, I got caught up in a cross fire. I was shot seven times. I was paralyzed from the stomach all the way down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As an orthopedic surgeon, I've seen a very significant number of patients that have been victims of violent crime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's another whole layer of patients in these underserved communities. They're underinsured, and they're uninsured but they need care.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you could get that final 20 degrees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just saw people put on wait lists for months and even years. And as a result, their injuries get worse, and I just said, enough is enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess I'm just stuck with arthritis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I run three clinics in Chicago's most underserved areas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Walking better. You smile more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We treat orthopedic conditions. We never turn away a patient. We treat patients regardless of ability to pay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He performed two surgeries on me and encouraged me to return back to college.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lot of guys never come out as positive as you. You're living life and you're moving on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know I can't fix everybody, but my focus is to break down the barriers. The greatest thing we give them is hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right. You are not going to believe this video. Police in Los Angeles are looking for a driver who put people in danger by driving in reverse for miles on some of L.A.'s busiest roads. A cell phone from another car caught it all on video. Peter Daut, of CNN affiliate KCAL reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing, amazing, guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're looking at what the LAPD is calling some of the most reckless driving investigators have ever seen. Cell phone video showing a car going backwards, all the way down Laurel Canyon Boulevard, listen to reaction from a stunned witness who recorded what he could barely believe was happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy's going backwards on coming traffic, amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The driver of the Audi staying in reverse for several minutes and along windy turns. At one point, the car appears to almost hit a pedestrian. Several times, the Audi crosses the double yellow lines, narrowly missing oncoming traffic. Watch what happens when the car eventually approaches busy Hollywood boulevard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. Look at what he's doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still in reverse, the driver moves around other vehicles and into the left turn lane.

KEVIN ZANAZANIAN, RECORDED VIDEO: Definitely was a shocker for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kevin Zanazanian recorded the video on his cell phone. The realtor says, he first noticed the car around 4:45 Thursday afternoon, near Mulholland. He says there were two people in the car, a man behind the wheel and a woman in the passenger seat.

ZANAZANIAN: t was definitely like a movie. And I just think that this individual had an argument or a fight or something or possibly just wanted to be a cool guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We showed the video to LAPD investigators, who say the driver, could be arrested for numerous charges.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reckless driving, unsafe speed, crossing double yellow lines, failing to drive on the right half of the roadway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And given the numerous close calls, police say it's incredible no one was hurt.

[16:55:01]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imagine if he injured your family member driving and being hit or struck by someone doing something irresponsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right. That was Peter Daut, of CNN affiliate KCAL reporting. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Look at the top stories right now. A suicide car bomb attack near a U.S. base in Southeastern Afghanistan has killed at least 25 civilians and left ten others injured. Officials tell CNN no U.S. or coalition personnel were injured. It's not clear right now who carried out the attack.

And a woman faces second degree assault charges for throwing water on Baltimore Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. The incident happened at a festival not far from where rioting occurred earlier this year, after the arrest and death of Freddie Gray. City officials say the woman tossed a cup of liquid at the mayor. He adds the mayor simply dried off and went on with the rest of the daily plans.

And back to back, Novak Djokovic, beat Roger Federer this morning at the Wimbledon's Men's Final. It's his second straight Wimbledon title and ninth straight grand slam overall. And he's only 28-years-old. What a Wimbledon weekend.

All right, thanks so much for spending time with me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, the next hour of the Newsroom with Poppy Harlow begins right now.