The lawyer representing captured drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada rebutted claims that his client had been tricked into boarding an aircraft bound for the United States, where he was arrested Thursday, alleging that he was “forcibly kidnapped” by a son of the infamous Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera.
Zambada, 76, was taken into custody after he arrived at a small airport near El Paso, along with Joaquín Guzmán López, a 38-year-old son of El Chapo, the cartel’s co-founder the cartel alongside Zambada.
The attorney, Frank Perez, rejected reports that Zambada — who has pleaded not guilty to an array of drug trafficking, gun and money laundering charges — had surrendered or been duped onto the plane.
“My client neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the U.S. government. Joaquín Guzmán López forcibly kidnapped my client,” Perez said in a statement first reported by The Times. “He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin. His legs were tied, and a black bag was placed over his head. He was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to a landing strip. There, he was forced onto a plane, his legs tied to the seat by Joaquin, and brought to the U.S. against his will.”
Perez said the only people on the plane were “the pilot, Joaquin and my client.”
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Perez’s statement and the status of Guzmán López.
Sources familiar with the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly about the arrests told The Times that Zambada had somehow been fooled into boarding the plane that brought him to U.S. soil.
“Epic, once-in-a-lifetime caper,” one law enforcement source who works in Mexico. “The old man got tricked.”
According to Perez, who spoke briefly with The Times after issuing the statement, Zambada was set up when called to a meeting with Guzmán López, a leader of the cartel faction known as Los Chapitos. Zambada was traveling with a light security detail.
Caught off guard, Zambada was overpowered by Guzmán López and his men, Perez said.
Guzmán López faces federal indictments in Chicago and Washington, D.C., for drug trafficking and his leadership role in the Sinaloa Cartel. Court records do not show him having entered any type of plea. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
