Murder convict tries to escape jail dressed as woman, caught
A murder convict in Honduras tried to escape from jail disguised as a woman but was caught by prison officials.
Francisco Herrera Argueta, who was held at a maximum security prison in San Pedro Sula city, dressed himself in a skirt, a blonde wig, sunglasses and fake breasts, and completed the look with high heels while trying to escape.
The 55-year-old gang leader also known as Don Chico even put on blush and nail polish in a bid to fool prison guards, and attempted to walk out of jail with the families of other prisoners at the end of visiting hours. Argueta managed to pass through multiple security checks. However, an alert guard noticed his uncomfortable walk in the high heels. He was stopped, questioned and asked to remove his sunglasses, and the game was up.
“The make-up couldn’t hide the fact that he was a man,” police spokesman Bayron Sauceda was quoted as saying by BBC.
Argueta was in jail for murder and firearms offences. He now faces severe punishment for the attempted prison break.
Media reports said he may be transferred to El Pozo jail, considered the most dangerous in the country.
Honduras has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with the country’s National Violence Observatory, an academic research institution, reporting a murder rate of 60 per 100,000 people.
However, crime rates have been improving — as recently as 2011, it was as high as 86.5 per 100,000 people.