Reputed cartel boss Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada reiterates claim he was ‘ambushed’ and ‘kidnapped’ by El Chapo’s son

By Holmes Lybrand, Polo Sandoval and Ray Sanchez, CNN

(CNN) — Alleged Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, in a statement released by his attorney, reiterated the claim he was “ambushed” and “kidnapped” by a son of notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán and hand-delivered to US authorities.

The long statement, the first directly attributable to the man US officials call a major cartel figure who had evaded capture for more than half a century, comes as the 76-year-old Zambada awaits prosecution in the same federal courthouse in Brooklyn where El Chapo was tried and convicted in 2019.

Two of El Chapo’s sons – one in prison in the US, the other free in Mexico – reportedly carved out a plan before one took Zambada on a flight last month from Mexico to El Paso, Texas, according to a Mexican security official.

Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the so-called “Chapitos,” reached an agreement with his brother Ovidio Guzmán López, who was extradited to the US in 2023 and is awaiting trial on drug and money laundering charges, according to Mexico Secretary of Security Rosa Icela Rodriguez. Attorneys for the Guzmán brothers deny there was any agreement.

In his account of the stunning betrayal, Zambada insisted – as his lawyer had previously claimed – “I did not turn myself in, and I did not come voluntarily to the United States.”

“Nor did I have any agreement with either government. To the contrary, I was kidnapped and brought to the U.S. forcibly and against my will,” Zambada said, echoing an account initially put forth by his attorney.

Zambada, who is being held without bond after pleading not guilty July 26 to seven federal criminal counts, including continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering, claims the ruse that led to his capture was set in motion with an invitation by Joaquín Guzmán to “a meeting to help resolve differences among the political leaders in our state.”

On July 25, Zambada said in the statement, he arrived early at a ranch outside the city of Culiacan in Sinaloa state for the meeting, which was heavily guarded by armed men in military uniforms and attended by Joaquín Guzmán. Zambada said he was accompanied by four members of his security detail, including a state police commander.

Zambada claimed in his statement a prominent state official who attended the meeting was “killed at the same time, and in the same place” as his abduction and not during an apparent gas station robbery, as reported by authorities in Sinaloa. CNN could not independently verify the account.

In a room with a table topped with fruit, Zambada said, Joaquín Guzmán gestured for the cartel boss to follow him to a dark room nearby. “Trusting the nature of the meeting and the people involved, I followed without hesitation,” he said.

“As soon as I set foot inside of that room, I was ambushed. A group of men assaulted me, knocked me to the ground, and placed a dark-colored hood over my head,” said Zambada, adding he was tied and handcuffed and forced into the back of a pickup.

Zambada said he was physically abused and suffered injuries to his back, knee and wrists. He said he was driven to a landing strip and forced onto a private plane, where Joaquín Guzmán removed his hood and bound him to a seat using zip ties. After a nearly three-hour flight to El Paso, Texas, US authorities took him into custody.

“The notion that I surrendered or cooperated voluntarily is completely and unequivocally false. I was brought to this country forcibly and under duress, without my consent and against my will,” Zambada said.

Zambada called on “the people of Sinaloa to use restraint and maintain peace in our state. Nothing can be solved by violence. We have been down that road before, and everyone loses.”

There have been conflicting accounts of Zambada’s capture. One version has Joaquín Guzmán duping Zambada to orchestrate their arrest, US law enforcement officials have told CNN. The account holds Zambada thought the two were flying to northern Mexico to look at real estate, but their small private plane instead landed north of the border, with US authorities waiting on the tarmac, the officials said.

An attorney for Ovidio Guzmán López has told CNN the claim that he and his brother conspired to turn in Zambada was “a complete and utter fabrication.”

Joaquín Guzmán has not made a deal with US officials, his attorney told reporters last month after his client pleaded not guilty in federal court in Chicago to narcotics, money laundering and firearms charges.

Zambada is expected to be transferred to New York from Texas, one official told CNN.

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