3 face charges in drug lord's escape

In this July 16, 2015 file photo, a Federal Police shows a reward notice for information leading to the capture of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who made his escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison via an underground tunnel,  in Almoloya, west of Mexico City.
In this July 16, 2015 file photo, a Federal Police shows a reward notice for information leading to the capture of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who made his escape from the Altiplano maximum security prison via an underground tunnel, in Almoloya, west of Mexico City.

MEXICO CITY -- A federal judge in Mexico has opened a court proceeding against three prison employees on charges they aided in the escape of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, authorities said Friday.

In a statement, the Federal Judiciary Council said the legal process would advance in the cases of three of the seven people originally arrested in relation to Guzman's July 11 escape from a maximum-security prison.

It said prosecutors showed there was sufficient evidence that the employees aided Guzman's escape through a one-mile-long tunnel.

The statement described the employees as the person in charge of the prison's video surveillance control center and two guards. There were inconsistencies in the supervisor's statements, and there was no explanation for why the guards did not answer the telephone in their module.

The council also said that, for now, it was determined there was no cause to hold for prosecution the other four people detained in the escape.

An official at the federal prosecutor's office, who was not authorized to discuss the matter and insisted on anonymity, said prosecutors were considering their next step, including a possible appeal of the decision on the other four people.

A Section on 07/25/2015

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