The Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 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" (''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 The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

, from

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

Construction

The prison was built between 1988 and 1990 under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Carlos Salinas de Gortari Carlos Salinas de Gortari (; born 3 April 1948) is a Mexicans, Mexican economist, historían and former politician who served as the 60th president of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. Considered the frontman of Mexican Neoliberalism by formulating, p ...

and received its first inmates in November 1991. 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. Therefore, the walls have been reinforced to as much as 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 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.

Escapes

This prison was thought to be impenetrable until July 11, 2015, when Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán escaped through a tunnel.

Notable inmates

Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (born January 8, 1946), commonly referred to by his aliases ''El Jefe de Jefes'' ('The Boss of Bosses') and ''El Padrino'' ('The Godfather'), is a convicted Mexican drug kingpin who was one of the founders of the ...

(known as "El Padrino" and "El Jefe De Jefes"): The founder of the modern Mexican drug trade, former leader and founder of the

Guadalajara Cartel The Guadalajara Cartel (), also known as The Federation (), was a Mexican drug cartel which was formed in the late 1970s by Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Rafael Caro Quintero, and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo in order to ship cocaine and marijuan ...

, one of the first Mexican cartels which was formed as an alliance of the

Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel (, , after the native Sinaloa region), also known as the ''CDS'', the ''Guzmán-Loera Organization'', the ''Federation'', the ''Sinaloa Cartel'', or the Pacific Cartel, is a large, drug trafficking transnational organized cri ...

, the

Tijuana Cartel The Tijuana Cartel (, ), formerly also known as the Arellano-Félix Cartel (, CAF), is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Founded by the Arellano-Félix family, the cartel once was described as "one of the biggest a ...

, and the Juarez Cartel. The cartel had connections to the Medellin Cartel and the Cali Cartel, and transported cocaine to the United States for them *

Rafael Caro Quintero Rafael "Rafa" Caro Quintero (born October 24, 1952) is a Mexican former drug lord who co-founded the now-disintegrated Guadalajara Cartel with Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and other drug traffickers in the late 1970s. He is the brother of fellow ...

(known as "El Narco de Narcos"): former drug lord of the

, extradited to the United States on February 27, 2025 *

Héctor Luis Palma Salazar Héctor Luis Palma Salazar (born April 29, 1960), commonly known as "El Güero Palma", is a Mexican former drug trafficker and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. After his boss Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo or ...

(known as "El Güero"): former drug lord of the

* Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán: former drug lord of the

, extradited to the United States on January 19, 2017 * Mario Aburto Martínez: accused assassin of presidential candidate

Luis Donaldo Colosio Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta (; 10 February 1950 – 23 March 1994) was a Mexican politician, economist, and Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) President of Mexico, presidential candidate, who was assassinated at a campaign rally in Tiju ...

Miguel Treviño Morales Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales (born 18 November 1970), commonly referred to by his alias ''Z-40'', is a Mexican former drug lord and leader of the criminal organization known as Los Zetas. Considered a violent, resentful and dangerous criminal ...

(known as "Z-40"): former leader of the

Los Zetas Cartel Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate and designated terrorist organization, known as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent " shock and awe" tactics such ...

, extradited to the United States on February 27, 2025 * Eduardo Arellano Félix (known as "El Doctor"): former leader of the

* Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano (known as "El Ingeniero"): former deputy leader of the

Dionisio Loya Plancarte Dionisio Loya Plancarte (born 21 October 1955) is a Mexican drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Knights Templar Cartel, a quasi-religious criminal organization based in the state of Michoacán. He is the uncle of Enrique Plancarte Solís ...

(known as "El Tío"): former leader of the

Knights Templar Cartel The Knights Templar Cartel (, ) was a Mexican criminal organization originally composed of the remnants of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel based in the Mexican State of Michoacán. The Knights Templar Cartel used to indoctrinate its operati ...

Servando Gómez Martínez Servando Gómez Martínez (born February 6, 1966), commonly referred to by his alias La Tuta (The Teacher) for once being a teacher, is a Mexican drug lord and former leader of the Knights Templar Cartel, a criminal organization based in the sta ...

(known as "La Tuta"): former leader of the

* Omar Treviño Morales (known as "Z-42"): former deputy leader of the

, extradited to the United States on February 27, 2025 *

Osiel Cárdenas Guillén Osiel Cárdenas Guillén (born 18 May 1967) is a former Mexican drug lord and the former top leader of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas. Originally a mechanic in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, he entered the cartel by killing Juan García Abrego's fri ...

: former leader of the

Gulf Cartel The Gulf Cartel ( , or ''Golfos'') is a criminal syndicate, Drug cartel, drug trafficking organization, and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, which is perhaps one of the oldest organized crime groups in Mexico. It is currently bas ...

and

Los Zetas Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate and designated terrorist organization, known as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent " shock and awe" tactics suc ...

* Abigael González Valencia (known as "El Cuini"): former deputy leader of the

Jalisco New Generation Cartel The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (, ), or CJNG, is a Mexican Organized crime, criminal syndicate, based in Jalisco and headed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Mencho"). The drug cartel, cartel has been characterized by extreme violence and pu ...

* José Maria Guizar Valencia (known as "Z-43"): former top lieutenant of the

* Ovidio Guzmán López (known as "El Ratón"): former high-ranking member of the

, extradited to the United States on September 15, 2023 * José Antonio Yépez Ortiz (known as "El Marro"): former leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel * Guillermo Héctor Álvarez Cuevas (known as "Billy Álvarez"): former general director of 'La Cooperativa La Cruz Azul S.C.L.', former president of the Mexican football club

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

and former footballer. * Daniel Arizmendi López (known as "El Mochaorejas"): leader of Kidnapping express, a kidnapping gang *Various alleged members of the

: Jaime González Durán (known as "El Hummer"),

Nabor Vargas García Nabor Vargas García (born 12 July 1976) is a Mexican suspected drug lord and one of the founders of Los Zetas, a criminal group formed by former soldiers of the Mexican Armed Forces. He joined the Mexican Army in the summer of 1995, and served ...

(known as "El Débora") and "El Barbas" *

Teodoro García Simental Teodoro García Simental (a.k.a.: ''El Teo'' and ''El Tres Letras'', born 1974) is a former drug lord and lieutenant of the Mexican criminal organization known as the Tijuana Cartel, and later allied with the Sinaloa Cartel. He was arrested b ...

(known as "El Teo"): drug lord who broke off from the Arellano Félix organization *Various alleged Zapatistas * 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 Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

series, ''

El Chapo EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

'', 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.

References

External links

*
CENTROS FEDERALES DE READAPTACIÓN SOCIAL
"
Archive
Secretariat of Public Security. *
Centro Federal de Readaptación Social N°1 "Altiplano"
COFEMER. {{DEFAULTSORT:Penal Del Altiplano Buildings and structures in the State of Mexico Prisons in Mexico