Benedicto Jimenez Bacca was captured on Oct. 25 in the city of Arequipa, according to the Ministry of the Interior. The former colonel is suspected of collaborating in money laundering with alleged crime lord Rodolfo Orellana.
Jimenez Bacca was first arrested on July 1 but released soon after, according to InSight Crime. Later that month, the prosecutor successfully appealed his release, and Jimenez Bacca went on the run.
His suspected associate, Orellana, is nicknamed the “Pablo Escobar of Peru,” after the infamous Colombian kingpin, according to InSight Crime. Orellana’s organization is accused of building a fortune of more than US$ 100 million through fraud and corruption, reports El Comercio.
Orellana’s network used a wide range of tactics to gain and launder assets, including land theft with falsified documents, a major issue in Peru. Other schemes included issuing fraudulent bonds and selling vehicles between shell companies to launder money.
Jimenez Bacca was seen as a hero for spearheading the 1992 capture of guerrilla leader Abimael Guzman. However, he is accused of supporting Orellana’s schemes through his non-governmental organization, United Against Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering. He also ran the magazine Juez Justo, through which he and Orellana allegedly attacked critics who accused them of crimes.
