EL Mayo
Police officers with K-9 dogs walk outside US federal court where alleged Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada appeared on drug trafficking charges in El Paso, Texas, August 1, 2024.
The Mexican government is issuing an arrest warrant for the jailed son of Sinaloa Cartel founder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, alleging he kidnapped a fellow narco boss and flew him straight into the waiting arms of US law enforcement a month ago.
In an announcement Wednesday, the Mexican Attorney General’s office confirmed it is issuing charges against Joaquín Guzmán López, who is in US custody in Chicago.
“An order of apprehension is being prepared alleging kidnapping and illegal deprivation of liberty of an individual on national territory in order to hand them over to authorities in another country,” Mexico’s Attorney General wrote in the statement.
The office also said investigators have secured the vehicles and property believed to have been used in the act. Though they did not elaborate, they also stated the air strip where the flight originated has been identified.
The cartel is thought to be responsible for the trafficking of vast amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the US. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said the arrests strike “at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast.”
The surprise arrest raised questions about why they took that flight and what happened beforehand. Mexican officials have said they believe Joaquín Guzmán López made an agreement with his imprisoned brother Ovidio before the flight, but an attorney for Ovidio told CNN the claim was “a complete and utter fabrication.” Ovidio Guzmán López was extradited to the US in 2023 and is awaiting trial on drug and money laundering charges.
In a jailhouse letter earlier this month, Zambada claimed he was ambushed and kidnapped by Guzmán López at a ranch outside Culiacan, Sinaloa, the day of his arrest.
“I did not turn myself in, and I did not come voluntarily to the United States,” he said. “To the contrary, I was kidnapped and brought to the U.S. forcibly and against my will.”
Jeffrey Lichtman, Guzmán López’s defense attorney, told CNN the Mexican government should be embarrassed for bringing forward these charges against his client.
“The corrupt Mexican government has made more of an effort over the last three weeks to prosecute the alleged kidnapping of Mayo Zambada, the biggest drug dealer on the planet, than to actually locate and prosecute Zambada over the past 40 years,” Lichtman said.
“I’m sure the many thousands of Americans killed by Zambada’s fentanyl will rest easier knowing that the person allegedly responsible for bringing him to justice in America has instead been charged with kidnapping and treason in Mexico,” he added.
It’s unclear how the Mexican government will actively seek to prosecute its kidnapping case against Guzmán López in the face of an extensive and ongoing investigation led by the US Department of Justice targeting the Sinaloa Cartel’s global enterprise.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has repeatedly expressed frustration with the US government’s involvement in this case and requested more information on the dramatic arrests of both Guzmán López and Zambada. Both remain in US detention after pleading not guilty to drug trafficking.
