Mexican drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was allegedly tricked by the son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and forced to board a plane that took him from Sinaloa to El Paso, Texas, United States, according to testimony given to the media on Saturday by his lawyer in that country.
“El Mayo” explained in the document released by his legal representative, Frank Pérez, that he was “ambushed” during what was supposed to be a meeting with Joaquín Guzmán López, son of “El Chapo” Guzmán, detained in the United States, and political leaders of the state of Sinaloa, including Héctor Cuén – murdered on the day of Zambada’s arrest – and Governor Rubén Rocha.
“As I was walking towards the meeting area, I saw Hector Cuen (and) Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who I’ve known since I was a child, and he gestured for me to follow him,” Zambada said. “As soon as I set foot inside that room, I was ambushed,” he added.
“El Mayo” explained that a group of armed men “assaulted” him, threw him to the ground and placed a dark-colored hood over his head.
“They tied me up and handcuffed me, and then forced me into the back of a pickup truck. During this whole ordeal, I was subjected to physical abuse, which caused significant injuries to my back, knee and wrists,” he added. “They then took me to a landing strip about 20 to 25 minutes away, where they forced me onto a private plane,” he said.
“Joaquín removed the hood from my head and tied me to the seat with cable ties. There was no one else on the plane except Joaquín, the pilot and me,” she said, referring to the day of the events that occurred at the end of last month.
Nearly a week after the high-profile arrest, attorney José Luis González, who is linked to the Guzmán family, stated in several statements to the press that the arrest of both “El Chapo’s” son, Joaquín Guzmán López, and “El Mayo” Zambada was the result of years of negotiations between drug traffickers and the United States government.
The day before, the US ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, said that “El Chapo’s” son had voluntarily surrendered to US authorities and that “the evidence so far” was that “El Mayo” was taken to that country against his will. He also said that there were no US officials present during the flight.
In the letter, signed at the end by “Ismael Mayo Zambada,” the drug trafficker who faces several charges in the United States related to drug trafficking and money laundering, among others, asked the governments of both Mexico and the United States to be “transparent” and to “provide the truth about my kidnapping in the United States.”
“The idea that I turned myself in or cooperated voluntarily is completely and unequivocally false,” he said. “I was brought to this country (the United States) by force and under duress, without my consent and against my will,” he said.
-With information from the Reuters agency.
