August 9th 2024.
The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, confirmed on Friday that Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a notorious drug lord, was brought to the United States against his will when he arrived in Texas in July. He was on a plane with fellow drug lord Joaquín Guzmán López, who is the half-brother of the factional leaders of the Sinaloa cartel. Zambada's attorney had claimed that he was kidnapped, but this had not been confirmed until now. Some had speculated that Zambada had turned himself in due to his age and apparent poor health.
According to Salazar, the evidence suggests that Zambada was brought to the U.S. against his will in an operation between cartels, where one turned the other one in. This comes amidst fierce fighting between Zambada's faction of the Sinaloa cartel and another faction led by Guzmán López's half-brothers. Salazar made it clear that no U.S. personnel, resources, or aircraft were involved in the flight in which Guzmán López surrendered. In fact, U.S. officials were surprised when the two men showed up at an airport outside El Paso, Texas on July 25.
Zambada's attorney, Frank Pérez, had previously stated that his client did not surrender or negotiate with the U.S. government. Pérez claims that Zambada was forcibly kidnapped by Guzmán López and six men in military uniforms. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, handcuffed, and tied up before being taken onto a plane. Pérez also alleges that Zambada was thrown into the back of a pickup truck and tied to a seat by Guzmán López.
In early August, Zambada appeared in federal court in Texas for the second time after being taken into U.S. custody the week before. Guzmán López had reportedly been in negotiations with U.S. authorities for some time before turning himself in. He has since pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges in federal court in Chicago. The U.S. officials had little warning when Guzmán López's plane landed near El Paso, and both men were arrested and remain in jail. They are facing various drug charges in the U.S.
Salazar revealed that the plane had taken off from Sinaloa, the Pacific coast state where the cartel is based, and had not filed a flight plan. He clarified that the pilot was not American, and neither was the plane. This suggests that Guzmán López had planned to turn himself in and brought Zambada with him in hopes of receiving more favorable treatment. However, his motives for doing so remain unclear.
Zambada was believed to be more involved in the daily operations of the cartel than his more well-known boss, "El Chapo," who was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. in 2019. Zambada is facing charges in multiple U.S. cases, including ones in New York and California. In February, prosecutors filed a new indictment against him in New York, describing him as the principal leader of the criminal enterprise responsible for importing large quantities of narcotics into the U.S.
The capture of Zambada and Guzmán López, and the fact that one faction of the cartel turned in the leader of the other, raised concerns that the already divided cartel could spiral into violent infighting. This led Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to publicly appeal to the drug cartels to refrain from fighting each other. You can follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america.
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