Panama discovers links between El Chapo and Colombia's FARC

Panama discovered a link between the Mexican fugitive drug lord Joaquín El Chapo Guzman Loera and the Front 30 of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC for its Spanish acronym).

The case was confirmed to EL UNIVERSAL by Panama's National Police and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The investigation, that lasted 18 months, was conducted in coordination with Mexico and Colombia and ended last Friday. As part of it, Panamanian authorities seized four tons of cocaine, more than half a million dollars, five speed boats and 38 cars, a blow to a mafia structure that included over 50 people.

Guzmán, who escaped from a Mexican prison in July, was at least twice in Panama about seven years ago, Omar Pinzón, Commissioner of Panama's Police, said.

"We have identified Mexican drug cartels linked to the FARC," Pinzón explained.

The Central American country also requested the extradition of a Mexican couple involved in a vast criminal network that trafficked cocaine from South to North America.

The couple, that has been linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, was in contact with Martín Leonel Pérez Castro from Colombia, aka Richard, the head of the Front 30. He was arrested in Colombia in July 2014 and identified as the "King Midas" of the organization.

The Front operates in Valle del Cauca, a department in southwestern Colombia strategic for cocaine trafficking because of its Buenaventura port.

According to Colombian authorities, Richard controlled up to 60% of the profits from drug smuggling, part of which were used to finance the purchase of weapons and other clandestine activities of the FARC.

Panama's Foreign Ministry declined to reveal the names of the Mexican couple, for confidentiality reasons.