Sinaloa drug cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada – in a letter written from prison and released by his lawyer – details what he says led to his arrest in the United States.
“El Mayo” and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of the notorious kingpin El Chapo’s 12 children, were arrested near El Paso, Texas on July 25 without incident, federal authorities said. The arrest of Zambada, a U.S. fugitive for many years, “strikes at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram at the time.
Guzman Lopez, 38, allegedly duped Zambada,76, into boarding a plane the day of their arrests, a person familiar with the investigation confirmed to CBS News, telling “El Mayo” they were going to look at property in Mexico. Guzman Lopez was said to have cut a deal with U.S. authorities on behalf of himself and his brother Ovidio Guzmán López.
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“El Mayo” disputes this account in the letter obtained by CBS News on Saturday. He wrote there were “many inaccurate reports” and he will provide the “true facts” from that day. He said he wanted everyone to know from the outset he did not turn himself in, have an agreement, or come voluntarily.
“To the contrary, I was kidnapped and brought to the U.S. forcibly and against my will,” he wrote.
Zambada wrote he was asked to attend a meeting by Guzman Lopez, to help resolve differences among the political leaders in the state of Sinaloa. On the morning of July 25, Zambada wrote, he arrived early for their meeting at Huertos del Pedregal just outside of Culiacan. He saw a large number of armed men wearing green military uniforms but trusting the meeting and the attendees he was led into a dark room, where he said he was ambushed. A hood was placed over his head and he was placed onto a plane for a flight that took 2.5 to 3 hours, he wrote.
He arrived in the U.S. and was taken into custody by federal officials. “El Mayo” pleaded not guilty in court in El Paso, and waived his arraignment and detention hearings, according to court records.
The cartel leader wrote in the letter that he did not kill Héctor Cuen, the former Federal congressman and mayor of Culiacan, who was at the meeting. He also said he had nothing to do with the disappearance of José Rosario Heras López, a commander in the State Judicial Police of Sinaloa, and security detail Rodolfo Chaidez who were also at the meeting.
He said any reports to the contrary were false. He ended the letter calling on the governments of the United States and Mexico to be “transparent” about his abduction, subsequent disappearances, and death.
“I also call on the people of Sinaloa to use restraint and maintain peace in our State,” Zambada wrote. “Nothing can be solved by violence. We have been down that road before, and everyone loses.”
Robert Legare contributed to this report.
