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Mexico charges four officials in 'El Chapo' jailbreak

September 8, 2015

A federal judge in Mexico has charged four officials for aiding drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's escape from a maximum security prison. Two of the officials are part of Mexico's intelligence services.

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Mexiko Drogenboss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman aus Gefängnis ausgebrochen
Image: Reuters/PGR/Attorney General's Office

Four public officials were charged with aiding Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escape from a maximum security prison on July 11, according to a statement made by Mexico's federal judicial council on Monday.

The infamous drug lord escaped via an underground tunnel built into his cell.

Two of the officials working at the Altiplano prison were members of the Center for Research and National Security (CISEN), Mexico's central intelligence agency.

The two other officials were guards working at the prison's control room.

According to the judicial council's statement, the four officials failed to activate the alarm mechanisms to alert the prison grounds of El Chapo's escape, despite all systems working normally.

The four officials are being held in the same prison where they previously worked.

Joaquin Guzmán
Joaquin "El Chapo" GuzmanImage: picture-alliance/dpa

Three other officials have been charged with complicity in Guzman's escape, although Mexican authorities suspect at least 15 other officials of involvement.

El Chapo's escape from the Altiplano prison struck a humiliating blow to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Guzman's escape is his second from a Mexican prison in less than 15 years.

ls/jr (Reuters, AP)