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Daniel J. Ollero Madrid

Madrid

Updated Monday, January 29, 2024-00:01

  • Mysteries The letter that can solve the riddle of the Alcatraz escape: "We survived"

  • Events The fugitive detained by the Police who hijacked a helicopter to take his brother out of prison at the point of Kalashnikov

El

Pastilla

sneaked behind an official on Christmas Eve in the Valdemoro prison and followed the instructions of the Civil Guard agents to leave the prison through the visitor access until he ended up being hunted a month later by the

German

Polizei

in Leipzig, the legendary escape of Frank Morris and the Anglins from the until then impregnable Alcatraz that would inspire a Clint Eastwood film, or the misfortunes of the

Lute

in a succession of legendary escapes that

marked an era

by coining

Walk or Bust

...

Prison escapes are a topic that raises passions among the public, in the press or in the cinema. Psychologists explain that these types of stories

combine philosophical elements such as the search for freedom and a kind of redemptive path

through the creativity and ingenuity of villains. A genre in which the prisons of the Community of Madrid have become scenes for some of the most unusual escapes.

The plaster gun

On June 16, 1983, three inmates considered "very dangerous" by the General Directorate of Penitentiary Institutions escaped from the Carabanchel prison in Madrid. The inmates - identified as Antonio Álvarez Gallego, Antonio Retuerta González and Alfonso Palomares Rodríguez - had arrived at the Madrid prison from Burgos just 15 days before. The escape occurred taking advantage of the rehabilitation works in part of the penitentiary center and the

suffocating heat of midday

, when the majority of the 1,539 inmates were seeking shelter from the sun.

One of the inmates dressed as a prison officer, another as a bricklayer

and a third in street clothes. They sawed the bars of their window, built a 15-meter vine with blankets,

a plaster gun that they painted black,

and a spike. They descended through the vines to a patio empty because of the construction work.

The 'Pastilla' in a recent photo.

The official on duty mistook them for construction workers accompanied by an official and they took the opportunity to point their guns at him:

"You get on well and nothing will happen to you

," they told him. They tied him up, took his keys and, like El Pastilla four decades later, they left the prison on their own, mixing with the visitors.

A handmade key

On December 5, 2020, the Valdemoro prison was the scene of an escape meticulously orchestrated by Jonathan, alias

El Piojo

, and Miguel Ángel Moñiz, brothers and experts in the art of butrón and moon landings, who managed to leave the prison on their own. means copying a key, sawing the bars of a warehouse and

making a kind of homemade climbing equipment with a backpack

that, after being attached to the concertina, deployed some vines that they used to climb and rappel.

The lice.

One of the great mysteries of this case is that during a period of almost 15 minutes,

the alarm went off six times without anyone activating the emergency protocol

, so it is suspected that the Moñiz could have had some help, both from inside from the Valdemoro prison and from the outside.

However, the centerpiece of their strategy was

a handmade key, created from a drawing of it

, that allowed them access to the "suitcase room." A rarely open room that houses part of the belongings and that became his secret workshop and window to freedom.

El Piojo remained free for two months until he was arrested again in the Latina district. Meanwhile, his brother endured a few more months on the run until she fell into a gas station in Getafe.

The fire extinguisher

On November 1, 2018, Roberto Izquierdo, alias El Ruso,

had a consultation scheduled

at the 12 de Octubre hospital in Villaverde. However, he and the doctor never met.

The Russian.

Sentenced to 58 years for murder and other crimes, this inmate linked to the world of drug trafficking was designated as "incompatible" for transfer to the hospital with other prisoners. However, he still had friends on the street.

When the Civil Guard van arrived at the hospital, a BMW X5 was positioned next to the rear

of it, after the agents opened the doors.

Then, El Ruso

's cronies

sprayed the agents with fire extinguishers

to reduce their visibility. The inmate fled with his gang and took refuge in Morocco with

a false passport

for four months until he was arrested by the Alawite authorities.