El Chapo Guzmán Escape News: Businessman Accused of Helping Mexican Drug Lord Escape in Jail
While cartel kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán remains at large, a Mexican businessman accused of financing his jailbreak has been sent to prison.
As reported by the BBC, Mexican prosecutors believe Manuel Trillo had a hand in Guzman's escape from the Altiplano prison. Ironically, Trillo, the financial operator of the Sinaloa cartel, is now confined to the same lockup Guzmán escaped from.
Aside from bankrolling Guzmán's escape, Trillo stands accused of using illicit funds to buy properties under various aliases from 2012 to 2015.
So far, over 30 individuals have been arrested due to their ties to Guzmán's escape. The accused accomplices include several guards, as well as the prison governor.
The search for Guzmán has been fully underway since he escaped through a mile-long tunnel back in July. Although there has been some recent speculation that the drug lord may be hiding out in Argentina, the Argentine government said there was no truth to that rumor.
As reported by The Guardian, President Cristina Fernández’s government said they received information that Guzmán had tried to cross the border between Chile and Argentina in the southern region of Patagonia. This report turned out to be false.
Sergio Berni, the Argentine security secretary, explained to local media that the government had tracked down the source of the tip and, after questioning the caller, discounted the information.
“After interrogating him, a judge found there was no truth to the caller’s information,” Berni said.
Despite, or due, to his highly publicized criminal activity, Guzmán is almost considered a folk hero in much of Mexico.
His arrest in 2014 was viewed as a huge win by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration, just as his recent escape was seen as an embarrassing sign of the government's failure to rein in crime.
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