Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambadahistorical leader of the Sinaloa Cartelwas until Thursday, July 25, one of the most wanted men in the world. That day, the news of his capture caused astonishment due to the circumstances and the place where it occurred. The feared Mexican drug lord had been arrested by authorities in USA in El Paso, Texas, after getting off a small plane. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of a Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman Loeraimprisoned in a US prison. Since then, in the absence of official data, a series of theories have been put forward about how ‘El Mayo’ was captured. Some say that he actually turned himself in, others say that he fell into a trap, with details that seem taken from a fiction novel.
‘The May’ never set foot in a Mexican prisonwas discreet but cruel, there are almost no photos of him. He is also known for his corrupting power and his negotiating skills with everyone, especially with the enemies of the Sinaloa Cartel and with the factions that were born from this mafia that he helped found in the 1980s along with ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, Héctor ‘El Guero’ Palma, Juan José Esparragoza, alias ‘El Azul’, and Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Coronel Villarreal.
The version of betrayal
British journalist Ioan Grillo, author of the book “El Narco” and who often covers topics related to drug trafficking and organized crime in Mexico, wrote on his website crashoutmedia.com that initially El Mayo Zambada was tricked into going to a meeting in Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa, in which Joaquín Guzmán López was supposedly to participate as an envoy of Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel commanded by the sons of El Chapo Guzmán, and the prominent Sinaloa politician Héctor Melesio Cuén.
In fact, according to the journalist, Guzman Lopezwho godson of ‘El Mayo’planned to betray him and make a deal with the United States for his surrender.
According to Grillo, ‘The May’76 years old, had arrived in Culiacán a week earlier from one of his shelters in the mountains of Durangofor a medical consultation for a cancer suffering.
Ismael El Mayo Zambada Garcia (left), co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel; and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of El Chapo Guzman. (AFP).
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Upon entering the house where the meeting was supposed to take place, located in the Huertos del Pedregal subdivision, the gunmen Guzman Lopez reduced to ‘The May’ Zambada and four of his bodyguards. The rest of the people who accompanied the drug trafficker and stayed outside chose to escape, says Grillo.
The gunmen then tied up ‘The May’ and they drove him about 35 km by car to the Lazareto ranch. At this place they forced him to board a plane and drove him north. Afterwards ‘The May’, Guzman Lopez and a pilot flew to the United States and landed at the small Santa Teresa airport near El Paso at around 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, where U.S. federal agents detained them.
The private plane that transported Ismael El Mayo Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, at a private airport in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, United States. (EFE/ Cesar Contreras).
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Grillo said his source is a former member of the security team at ‘The May’ Zambada who is currently incarcerated.
The person who spoke to Grillo told him that there were American agents in the house in Culiacán when ‘The May’ it was kidnapped.
Grillo’s version coincides with that given by ‘El Mayo’s’ lawyer, Frank Perezwho assured the Los Angeles Times that his client did not turn himself in, but rather He was “kidnapped, ambushed, thrown to the ground and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquín.”
As to Hector Melesio Cuenhe was shot dead on July 25 in Culiacán.
An agreed delivery
Undated images of Ismael El Mayo Zambada Garcia provided by the Mexican Attorney General’s office in Mexico City on August 1, 2003. (AFP)
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The independent journalist Luis Chaparro has a different version. He said he interviewed relatives of ‘The May‘, who told him that this would have negotiated its delivery with authorities of USAlike Joaquin Guzman Lopez. This was done with the aim of cooperating with the American justice system and obtaining some kind of benefit.
“My grandfather was very sick, as you knew. And his life was coming to an end. All he ever wanted was to have the chance to see V (Vicente Zambada, the eldest son of ‘El Mayo’) and MG (Mayo Gordo, another son of Zambada) at least one more time.”Zambada’s grandson told me in a private message, Chaparro said on his social networks.
The journalist also described A meeting in an unknown place in Sonora between ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, and two of El Chapo Guzmán’s sons: Joaquín and Alfredo.
He added that some men with “fancy shirts and expensive shoes” They would have made an offer to the three bosses: to continue enjoying what is left of their money and probably have the opportunity to live freely in the United States.or stay in Mexico, where things “they are about to get uglier”and will probably be killed or arrested.
According to Chaparro, Only ‘El Mayo’ and Joaquín accepted the agreement.
According to Chaparro, once ‘El Mayo’ was arrested in El Paso, he asked DEA and FBI agents not to say that he turned himself in, but rather that he was captured, kidnapped or deceived because he did not want to appear weak.
Chaparro also said that a high-level US diplomat told him that this alleged negotiation for the handover of ‘El Mayo’ and Joaquín Guzmán López had been going on for at least three years, when Vicente Zambada, the son of ‘El Mayo’, entered the system of protected witnesses in the United States.
“This revelation makes much more sense than the kidnapping story,” Chaparro told Radio Fórmula.
Jose Luis GonzalezEl Chapo Guzmán’s lawyer and his family, confirmed to Radio Fórmula that both ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, and Joaquin Guzman Lopezthey surrendered voluntarily after 4 years of negotiations: “There was no betrayal,” he said.
The lawyer stressed that for 50 years the relationship between the families Guzman Loera and Zambada Garcia It is impeccable, respectful and harmonious. He added that there are compadrazes and marriages between them.
“About four years ago, talks were initiated with the North American authorities about the possibility of the group voluntarily turning themselves in… talks were held that culminated in the handover of Joaquín Guzmán López and Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García a few days ago. They turned themselves in voluntarily and without pressure from any Mexican or American authority.”the lawyer said.
González also “completely” ruled out the possibility of a wave of retaliatory violence in Sinaloa because “there was no betrayal.”
Ismael El Mayo Zambada eluded Mexican and U.S. authorities for decades. It is known that He lived heavily protected in the mountains of Sinaloa. For his capture The United States was offering a reward of 15 million dollars.
Last week, Zambada pleaded not guilty in a federal court in El Paso on all charges against him, including drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder.
While on Tuesday Joaquin Guzman Lopez He did the same in a Chicago court, where he was taken after being arrested.
Secrecy at the highest level
Journalist Jesus Garcia wrote in The opinion that the operation for the capture of ‘The May Zambada It was kept secret from both top Mexican and U.S. officials to prevent any leaks.
Garcia stressed that at least in Mexico the president’s government Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and His close team only learned of the arrest shortly after it took place in El Paso.
The two sources of the president’s government Joe Biden Those with knowledge of operations against organized crime who were consulted by García did not specify whether ‘El Mayo’ Zambada turned himself in or whether there was a coordinated operation with ‘El Chapo’s’ sons to betray him.
