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Mexican drug cartel lawyer's statement: My client was forcibly kidnapped by El Chapo's son, they put a bag over his head

2024-07-29 08:47:03Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Mexican drug cartel lawyer's statement: My client was forcibly kidnapped by

The lawyer for Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the alleged co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, says his client "neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the US government," but was kidnapped.

Zambada's lawyer strongly denied any suggestion previously raised by Mexican officials that his client may have surrendered of his own free will or come willingly to the United States as part of a deal.

In a phone call and statement to CNN on Sunday, Frank Pérez said Zambada, 76, was kidnapped by Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the other co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, who was extradited to United States in 2017 and is serving a life sentence in US federal prison.

"Joaquín Guzmán López forcibly kidnapped my client. 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," Pérez said in the statement.

“He was then thrown into the back of a truck and taken to a landing strip. There, he was forced onto a plane, with his legs tied to the seat by Joaquin, and brought to the US against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquín and my client," Pérez added.

US law enforcement officials had previously told CNN that Joaquín Guzmán López had tricked Zambada and orchestrated their arrest by making him believe they were flying to northern Mexico to look at real estate. Instead, officials said, their small private plane landed north of the border near El Paso, Texas, where US authorities were waiting on the tarmac.

Zambada has been one of the most elusive figures in the underworld. He was able to run the Sinaloa cartel for decades and, until now, had never seen a prison cell. Mike Vigil, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent who served with the agency for 31 years, described the Mexican drug cartel as "sharp."

"Mayo Zambada, before Thursday and over 50 years of involvement in the drug trade had never been caught, so he is well respected even by his rivals," Vigil said.

Mexican Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Friday that her government was not part of any operation to arrest suspected Mexican drug lords, but clarified that the Mexican government will "continue to cooperate with the United States government, as they have done so far".

“You ask if (they) surrendered or were captured. This is part of the investigation and part of the information that we will expect from the United States government," Rodríguez told Mexican media, with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at her side.

President López Obrador said, regardless of whether Zambada and Guzmán López surrendered or were captured, the fact that they are now in custody is an important step forward in the fight against drug trafficking.

CNN learned Saturday that whatever action the U.S. may have taken to arrest Zambada and Guzmán López has prompted a backlash from Mexican government officials, who are demanding that top law enforcement officials explain exactly what what happened, according to a US official familiar with the operation.

The Mexican government is "absolutely furious," the source said, noting that officials in Mexico were not informed in advance of the planned seizures.

U.S. officials were reluctant to inform their Mexican counterparts in advance for fear the operation might have been compromised, a law enforcement source told CNN. The source noted that details of the sensitive operation were also highly restricted within the US government until Zambada and Guzmán López were taken into custody.

Zambada pleaded not guilty to all charges in U.S. District Court in El Paso on Friday and is scheduled to appear in person in the same court for a status conference on Aug. 1 at 11 a.m. local time, according to Perez and the documents. delivered to the court.

The arrests of Zambada and Guzmán López mark a major development in decades-long efforts to capture and prosecute suspected cartel bosses. And the details revealed so far about what led to their arrest provide a glimpse into the inner workings of what authorities describe as one of the world's most notorious and nefarious criminal enterprises.


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