Captured Drug Lord 'Kidnapped,' Forced on Plane, Lawyer Says

Account suggests Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada was betrayed by El Chapo's son
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 29, 2024 7:59 AM CDT
Lawyer: Captured Drug Lord Betrayed by El Chapo's Son
Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, left, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of another infamous cartel leader.   (U.S. Department of State via AP)

A lawyer for Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the alleged co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel now in US custody, says his client was kidnapped and flown to the US against his will. Zambada "neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the US government," but was instead kidnapped by Joaquín Guzmán López, the 38-year-old son of fellow Sinaloa cartel co-founder Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who's been in US custody since 2017, lawyer Frank Pérez said Sunday, per CNN. US law enforcement officials have said Guzmán López, arrested alongside Zambada, tricked him into boarding a plane he thought would land in northern Mexico but instead flew to Santa Teresa, New Mexico, where law enforcement officials were waiting. Perez says the reality is far different.

He claims Zambada, 76, was traveling with a light security detail when he was called to a meeting with Guzmán López, per the AP. Guzmán López and six men in military uniforms ambushed Zambada, put him in handcuffs, placed a bag over his head, threw him in the back of a pickup truck, then took him to a landing strip, where he was forced onto a plane and tied to a seat, Perez says. "The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquín, and my client," he adds. Mexican Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Friday that her government wasn't involved and was waiting for information from the US. Privately, Mexican officials are furious to have been kept out of the loop and are demanding answers, CNN reports.

US officials previously said Guzmán López made Zambada believe they were going to look at real estate in northern Mexico. There was also a report that Zambada "had secretly surrendered with the promise of being reunited with a son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, who testified against El Chapo and is now believed to be in witness protection," per the Los Angeles Times. But if what Perez says is true, "Zambada's capture would represent a massive betrayal by Guzmán López, who could stand to receive leniency from US authorities." A US government rep declined to comment on Guzmán López's status, per the Times. Zambada pleaded not guilty Friday to drug trafficking, and gun and money laundering charges. He is next due in court on Thursday. (More Ismael Zambada stories.)

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