The man accused of financing the escape of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, pictured, has been admitted to the same prison from which Guzman fled to face criminal proceedings. Photo courtesy of Mexico's Attorney General
MEXICO CITY, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The man accused of financing the escape of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been admitted to the same prison from which Guzman fled while he faces criminal proceedings.
Manuel Rodolfo Trillo Hernández, a businessman, was admitted to the Altiplano Federal Prison on Monday, El Universal reported. Mexico's Attorney General's Office accuses Trillo Hernández of financing Guzman's escape, and of acquiring money and property by using false identities and shell companies for Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel.
Prosecutors allege Trillo Hernández "knowingly used" part of the Sinaloa Cartel's earnings between 2012 and 2015 to break Guzman out of prison -- a "crime against the public health."
On July 11, Guzman escaped from a Mexican maximum security prison for the second time using a mile-long tunnel, which could have taken a year to build. During the investigation into Guzman's escape, authorities first looked into which Altiplano prison workers were complicit in the crime before expanding the search further to civilian suspects.
"El Chapo" -- meaning "The Short One" or "shorty" -- so dubbed because of his 5-foot-6-inch frame, was captured in Guatemala in 1993 and then extradited to Mexico to face murder and drug trafficking charges. He escaped from prison in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart after bribing prison guards, and was re-captured in February 2014.
In October, an unedited leaked video of Guzman's escape shed further light into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the prison break.
Mexican television channel Televisa broadcasted the CCTV footage of Guzman's escape, the longer version of a video authorities previously released but without sound and only showing the moments before Guzman disappeared.
