By EFE
The co-founder of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, confirmed this Saturday in a statement released by his lawyer that he was extradited to the United States “by force” after being deceived by the son of his former partner, Joaquín “Chapo” Guzmán.
In statements signed by Mayo himself and shared with EFE by his lawyer, Frank Pérez, Zambada revealed the details of that day on which he was transferred and linked his “kidnapping” with the murder of former congressman Héctor Cuén Ojeda in Culiacán (Sinaloa).
Following his surprise arrest on July 27 in El Paso (Texas) along with Joaquín Guzmán López, one of El Chapo’s sons, various leaks to the media had suggested that Mayo had been taken to US territory under false pretenses.
The two men were captured by US authorities as they disembarked from a private plane at an airport outside the border city.
Guzmán López was later transferred to Chicago, where he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges, and Mayo is expected to be sent to New York, where charges are pending in the same federal court where El Chapo was sentenced to life in prison in 2019.
In the letter, Zambada says that on the night he was taken to the United States, he had gone to a “ranch” on the outskirts of Culiacán (Sinaloa) to meet with the state governor Rubén Rocha Moya and the deceased deputy Cuén Ojeda.
The purpose of the meeting, called by Guzmán López, which was also attended by Iván Guzmán Salazar, another of Chapo’s sons, was to “resolve the differences between the political leaders of the state,” according to the text.
Mayo claims that he arrived at the meeting around 11:00 p.m., accompanied by “security personnel” that included the commander of the Sinaloa judicial police, José Rosario Heras, and that he saw Cuén Ojeda.
Upon entering a room, guided by Guzmán López, Mayo recounts that he was “ambushed”: “A group of men jumped on me, threw me to the ground and put a dark-colored hood over my head.”
From there, he continued, he was taken in the trunk of a car to a private plane; once inside the aircraft, Guzmán López removed his hood and tied him to the seat.
“The idea that I turned myself in or cooperated voluntarily is completely and unequivocally false; I was brought to this country by force and under duress,” Zambada stressed.
Regarding the death of Cuén Ojeda – whom he referred to as a long-time friend of his – Mayo stressed in the text that the politician was murdered “at the same time and in the same place” where he was “kidnapped.”
The Sinaloa Prosecutor’s Office said on July 26 that it was investigating the politician’s death as an “attempted robbery.”
Zambada has already appeared twice for preliminary hearings before a federal court in El Paso, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
His case in the United States represents the end of the old guard of Mexican drug trafficking and could reveal more details about the cartel’s connection with the government of that country, according to experts and sources close to the investigation who spoke to EFE.
Continue reading:
• What are the historical rivalries of the Sinaloa cartel and how does the capture of “El Mayo” and the son of El Chapo affect them?
• Two men allegedly linked to the Sinaloa Cartel arrested in Puerto Rico
• Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada appeared before the federal court in El Paso