They arrest a guard involved in the prison break of Colombian drug traffickers

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Bogotá, 20 Mar Colombian authorities arrested a guard who reportedly participated in the escape from Bogotá's La Picota prison in Bogotá of drug trafficker Juan Castro Estupiñán, alias “Matamba”, who was waiting to be extradited to the United States, the Prosecutor's Office reported on Sunday. “Matamba” was arrested in May last year in the town of Floridablanca, in the department of Santander; he was one of the most wanted drug traffickers in the country, and, according to investigations, he was the head of the drug trafficking network called La Cordillera Sur, which operates mainly in the department of Nariño in partnership with the Gulf Clan, the country's leading criminal gang. The Prosecutor's Office explained in a statement that the detained guard of the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (Inpec) was “the inspector on duty when he fled and would have facilitated the escape by leaving the door where 'Matamba' left open, wearing garments for the private use of custody personnel.” The guard was arrested on Friday and during the operation 10 million pesos (about $2,600) were seized, while the Prosecutor's Office today assured that it will charge him next Tuesday with the crime of encouraging the escape of the drug trafficker from the Gulf Clan. Colombian President Iván Duque confirmed on Friday the escape of “Matamba” and then assured that he had all the criminal investigation structures in place to execute “a plan to recapture this bandit.” THE IMPORTANCE OF “MATANGA” “Matanba” is requested for extradition by the United States, where he has an open file for alleged links with the Mexican drug cartel “Jalisco Nueva Generación”. The capture of the drug trafficker, who has 14 incomes to prison and is reported to have links to several homicides in the Colombian Pacific, exposed a corruption network involving Colombian military and former military personnel who allegedly provided him with information about operations against his organization. Among them is retired colonel Robinson González del Rio, convicted of being involved in murders committed by the military, known in Colombia as “false positives”. Also on the list of alleged collaborators is alias “Godfather”, the name by which “Matamba” referred to the former commander of the Military Forces, retired General Leonardo Barrero. THE INPEC IN THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE INPEC has been in the eye of the hurricane in recent weeks due to cases of corruption that occurred inside prisons, the last of which was that of the Spanish-Colombian businessman Carlos Mattos. Mattos was leaving prison in Inpec's cars for alleged health reasons, although graphic testimony published in an investigation by Noticias Caracol revealed that he had no follow-up from the prison authorities, so after leaving the clinic he went to his office to meet with several people. In addition, in 2019 former Colombian congressman Aida Merlano, sentenced to 15 years in prison for electoral corruption, escaped taking advantage of a medical appointment. CHIEF jga/cfa