Bolivian Prisoner Disguises Himself as a Sheep to Escape Max-Security Prison

A Bolivian man serving 15 years for homicide tried to escape a maximum-security prison by disguising himself as a farm animal.

José Luis Callisaya Diaz attempted to escape from Chonchocoro, a prison in Bolivia, earlier this month by wrapping himself in sheepskin and crawling through the grassland surrounding the jail.

Diaz was Caught ‘Grazing’ in the Grass

The inmate, also known as “El Araña,” used his fleece coat to sneak past security and attempted to break through one of the prison’s external walls on Feb. 4. Despite his sneaky attempts, security noticed Diaz, who is serving 15 years for homicide, was not in his cell.

The convict was later caught imitating a grazing sheep in the grass. Photos of his bizarre attempted escape obtained by the New York Post show the prisoner crawling around on all fours in a field while wearing the fuzzy coat before he was taken back into custody. Diaz thought the cold weather would provide some cover during his escape, prison officials said.

Diaz to Face Legal and Disciplinary Action

“We inform the Bolivian population that prison security police officers from the San Pedro de Chonchocoro Penitentiary Center prevented the escape of prisoner José Luis Callisaya Diaz (alias El Araña), who took advantage of the inclement weather to try to flee through one of the walls of the external perimeter of the prison,” the Director of the Penitentiary Regime Juan Carlos Limpias said. Diaz is expected to face legal and disciplinary consequences.

This is not the first time an inmate has put on a disguise in a bid to escape confinement. In 2019, a Brazilian drug trafficker disguised himself as a woman using a prosthetic mask and a wig in an attempt to escape prison. However, he was apprehended by authorities before he made his way towards the exit.