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'El Chapo' friend Kate del Castillo's Miami tequila company abandoned

By Andrew V. Pestano
The Miami headquarters of the tequila company owned by Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, who is under investigation for her ties to drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has been reportedly abandoned for months -- fueling suspicions that it is a front. File photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
The Miami headquarters of the tequila company owned by Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, who is under investigation for her ties to drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has been reportedly abandoned for months -- fueling suspicions that it is a front. File photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

MIAMI, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The Miami headquarters of the tequila company owned by Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, who is under investigation for her ties to drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has been abandoned for months, a Mexican newspaper reported.

Del Castillo, who helped actor Sean Penn set up a meeting with Guzman, was subpoenaed in January as part of a money-laundering investigation by Mexico's attorney general.

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The United States has also initiated an inquiry.

El Universal, a Mexican newspaper, launched its own investigation and found that Del Castillo's Miami headquarters is a "ghost company."

Del Castillo is the owner and spokeswoman for Tequila Honor LLC, which began operating in the United States first in Delaware and then in Florida last August. Mail delivered to the company is sent to the Miami address.

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A guard at the property told El Universal the place is empty and no one has lived or worked there for several months.

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The tequila, called Honor del Castillo, is produced at a factory in Arandas in Mexico's Jalisco state.

The Mexican government's investigation will look into Del Castillo's links to Guzman and her company's finances in an effort to determine if drug money went into her business. Del Castillo has denied the allegations.

There was a social media firestorm over the weekend over rumors that Guzman broke out of prison for a third time. The information was found to be false, as it came from a hoax ABC News website.

The website has successfully fooled the media and public before. Once when it reported U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order limiting U.S. gun owners to three weapons, and another when it reported Donald Trump would choose controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio as his vice presidential running mate.

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