MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Mexico on Friday admitted it had mistakenly claimed to have captured a son of Mexico’s most wanted drug lord, Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, which the ruling party had hailed as a major victory in its war on cartels.
Mexican marines seized the man on Thursday outside Guadalajara and flew him to Mexico City, where they paraded him in front of the media and identified him as Jesus Alfredo Guzman, alias “El Gordo” or “The Fat One.”
The man’s lawyer, Veronica Guerrero, told a news conference earlier on Friday that her client’s real name was Felix Beltran and that he was an innocent car dealer.
Mexico’s federal attorney general’s office said late on Friday that the man arrested was indeed Beltran, without giving any further details.
Marines said they found him with an arsenal of rifles, pistols and grenades and about $160,000 in cash.
