Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada says he was taken towards his will to US amid conflicting accounts of arrest final month.
The co-founder of the Sinaloa drug cartel says he was kidnapped in Mexico and delivered into United States custody towards his will, within the newest chapter of a dramatic case that has sparked world consideration.
“I used to be ambushed,” Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada stated in an announcement launched by means of his lawyer on Saturday that he stated aimed to clear up the rumours and misinformation surrounding his seize final month.
US authorities have stated that Zambada was detained on July 25 together with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of many sons of one other co-founder of the cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
They have been arrested after touchdown in El Paso, Texas, on a non-public aircraft.
On Friday, Zambada’s lawyer stated Guzman Lopez and 6 males in navy uniforms “forcibly kidnapped” his consumer close to the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan and flew him to the US towards his will.
However the Guzman household lawyer has denied {that a} kidnapping occurred, as an alternative calling it a voluntary give up after prolonged negotiations.
In his assertion on Saturday, Zambada stated he felt it was vital that the reality come out about his arrest, citing what he stated have been “false tales” about his “abduction”.
He defined that Guzman Lopez had invited him to a gathering at a ranch simply outdoors of Culiacan on July 25. There, he described how he greeted a number of folks earlier than recognizing Guzman Lopez, whom he stated he has recognized “since he was a younger boy”.
“He gestured for me to observe him,” Zambada stated in his assertion, including that, “trusting” these concerned, he adopted “with out hesitation”.
“I used to be led into one other room which was darkish. As quickly as I set foot inside that room, I used to be ambushed,” Zambada continued.
He stated a bunch of males then assaulted him, knocked him to the bottom and positioned a dark-coloured hood over his head.
“They tied me up and handcuffed me, then pressured me into the mattress of a pick-up truck.”
Zambada stated he suffered “vital accidents” to his again, knee and wrists throughout the incident and was later pushed to a close-by touchdown strip and “pressured onto a non-public aircraft”.
On the aircraft, he stated Guzman Lopez eliminated his hood and “sure” him with zip ties to the seat. “Nobody else was aboard the aircraft besides Joaquin, the pilot, and myself.”
Zambada stated they then flew on to El Paso, the place US federal brokers took him into custody on the tarmac.
Zambada’s account of what occurred comes a day after the US ambassador to Mexico acknowledged that the cartel chief was delivered to the nation towards his will.
“This was an operation between cartels, the place one turned the opposite one in,” Ken Salazar stated on Friday, including that no American sources have been concerned in El Mayo being delivered to the US.
The American embassy additionally stated no flight plan had been shared with US authorities and the pilot was neither a US citizen and nor had he been employed by the US authorities.
Zambada was considered extra concerned within the day-to-day operations of the Sinaloa drug cartel than El Chapo, who was sentenced to life in prison by a US courtroom in 2019.
Final week, Zambada appeared in a Texas courtroom whereas in a wheelchair. He pleaded not responsible to fees of drug trafficking, cash laundering and conspiracy to commit homicide.
Guzman Lopez, El Chapo’s son, additionally pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and different fees in a US courtroom in late July.
Amid fears of spiralling violence following the arrests, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took the weird step of issuing a public enchantment to drug cartels to not battle one another.
Greater than 450,000 folks have been murdered in drug-related violence throughout Mexico for the reason that authorities of then-President Felipe Calderon launched a navy offensive towards drug gangs in 2006.