They know where Chapo is...

A high-ranking Mexican official confirms that new reports regarding Chapo's whereabouts appear to be reliable.

Chapo is apparently living in Durango these days (the Archbishop did say this back in 2009, and remember, the Church knows everything and never lies...) Chapo moves around constantly, according to testimony from a recently detained suspect who was pretty close to the big boss.

Chapo moves around Durango and Sinaloa in light planes, according to the suspect. When staying put, he holes up in small cabins equipped with an exercise bike, a bed, a small kitchen and Sky satellite TV. This jibes with the reports that came out of Durango in mid-2009, when the military stumbled across a meth compound. The cabins there were equipped with similar gear, and the authorities believed Chapo had been living there.

There was also alcohol on the premises at the meth compound in Durango: according to the latest testimony, Chapo still likes his whiskey – aged 18 years. His culinary preference is apparently a little more down-to-earth: he's fond of machaca (basically, shredded beef).

The suspect told the authorities that in spite of his clandestine life, Chapo continues to control his organization and is constantly preoccupied with new developments, such as who is winning the battle for control of Ciudad Juarez.

Chapo is apparently still quick to act, too. When his son was killed in 2008, the recently detained suspect said, Chapo immediately ordered the killers caught. They were – within a day; Chapo apparently had the assassins brought before him in the hills, where he had them killed.

Interestingly, Chapo is said to have some opinions on the drug war: It simply generates more violence and "the country heats up," he allegedly said at one point.

What a patriot.

Another interesting thing to come out of this testimony is the suspect's revelation that Chapo's current wife is named Alejandra. If this is the Alejandra I'm thinking of, it's Alejandra Maria Salazar Hernandez, whom Chapo married back in 1977, when he was only 20 years old. Have the rest of his wives, including Griselda who was recently detained (but let go almost immediately), been fronts? Was his marriage to Emma Coronel, the beauty queen, simply a rumor or sham/misinformation to keep the authorities at bay and Chapo's mythical status intact? In his old age, has Chapo now gone back to his childhood sweetheart? Is she the most trustworthy person in his life, having been there through thick and thin, even as he romanced other women and lived a crazy life on the lam?

Truly the stuff of novels.