I don't know, I've heard stories about Russian hackers being tortured to coerce them into working for organized crime. They may have made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

The IT guy did it for the money:

> Not long after his 21st birthday, Christian Rodriguez got the contract of a lifetime for his new info-tech company: The Colombian was hired as a cybersecurity consultant by Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo. While Mr. Rodriguez had little experience or formal education, he had been recommended by one of his other clients: Jorge Cifuentes Villa, a veteran trafficker who worked with Mr. Guzmán making cocaine deals with left-wing guerrillas in Colombia.

And from another article that I found:

> The government allowed him to keep the half-million he’d earned working for Guzman, and in addition paid him $480,000 for his expenses and technology services – which he later neglected to pay taxes on. Ref: https://www.courthousenews.com/sinaloa-cartels-it-guy-testif...

Ah, should have RTFA

That is a valid defense.

But he had plenty of opportunities of doing something about it.

Really? I mean, how would you do something about it if it meant your whole family would be tortured to death? Set on fire? These guys have horrifically cruel methods of execution. And despite all that he did go undercover. Balls of steel if you ask me.

That doesn't mean we can't be compassionate and empathize with his current predicament. Regardless of his moral character, he did a good thing and has exposed himself to a great potential of suffering for it.