‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Security Chief Who Helped Cartel Leader Escape By Tunnel Found Dead In Sinaloa

Mexico’s justice department (PGR) confirmed on Thursday that an alleged chief of security for recently arrested Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has been found dead with two others in Elota, SInaloa. Manuel Alejandro Aponte Gómez, also known as “El Bravo,” is credited by police with helping "El Chapo" narrowly escape apprehension in Culiacán by means of a series of tunnels connected to a safe house, days before authorities managed to capture the kingpin in a separate operation on Feb. 22 in Mazatlán.

La Jornada reports that the three bodies were found in a construction-material store and factory with gunshot wounds to the back of the head. Mexican officials say Aponte Gómez, a native of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, was a 1996 graduate of an elite military academy who for years served in the military’s anti-narcotics squad -- including two years in the town of Badiraguato, where El Chapo was born -- before deserting in 2004. His body was positively identified by fingerprint, according to PGR officials.

The news comes as details emerge on a plea deal between top Sinaloa cartel member Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla and a Chicago court, which will try him for a single count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine and heroin -- a deal which would land him at least 10 years behind bars. According to CBS, Zambada Niebla has thus far cooperated with prosecutors in a likely attempt to avoid a life sentence, in accordance with his plea deal.