Joaquín Guzmán Loera and Ismael Zambada García harbored plans to jointly retire from drug trafficking activities and hand over control of the Sinaloa Cartel to new generations outside their immediate families.
This was revealed by Lucero Sánchez López, a former local legislator representing an alliance of the National Action Party (PAN), the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), and the Sinaloa Party (PAS); she currently resides in the United States as a cooperating witness with U.S. judicial authorities.
In an interview, the former legislator from the municipality of Cosalá discussed the criminal organization’s internal dynamics and provided details about her romantic relationship with “El Chapo” Guzmán. According to her statements, the group’s two historic leaders expressed that they were worn down by age and intended to step away from leadership.
Regarding the retirement plans of both leaders, Sánchez López stated:
“They [‘El Chapo’ and ‘El Mayo Zambada’] talked about retiring—living their lives quietly and relaxed—because, well, obviously they were tired and old, as they put it. But they never spoke about who they would leave as successors. My understanding is that he [Guzmán Loera] didn’t want his sons involved.”
The lack of a planned succession led to the “Los Chapitos” faction assuming control following Guzmán Loera’s recapture in January 2016. This transition subsequently triggered a rift between the “La Chapiza” and “La Mayiza” groups, a conflict exacerbated by Joaquín Guzmán López’s extraction and transfer of Zambada García to U.S. territory. Regarding the current disintegration of the criminal structure and the shift in its operational dynamics, Sánchez López stated:
“Codes were lost; the codes that existed before—not harming children, not harming innocent people—simply don’t exist anymore. Things have been very different since the time of Joaquín and ‘El Mayo’.”
“We are already witnessing the end of the Sinaloa Cartel; ever since the top leaders who maintained control—Joaquín and Mr. Mayo—surrendered, the cartel just hasn’t been the same.”
On a personal note, the former public official revealed that Guzmán Loera’s primary ambition in his youth was not linked to organized crime but rather to regional Sinaloan music; he frequently expressed a desire to join Cruz Lizárraga’s *Banda El Recodo* and would sing songs from groups such as *Los Canelos* and *Los Alegres del Barranco*:
“His dream when he was young wasn’t to be a drug trafficker; he used to say his dream was to be a singer—that he wanted to be part of Don Cruz Lizárraga’s *Banda El Recodo*. That had always been his dream. Obviously, a lack of education, resources, and opportunities is what led him down that other path.”
“He really loved to sing. And I thought, ‘Well, maybe so,’ because he did sing a lot; he was a very cheerful person. He was constantly singing songs by *Los Canelos* and *Los Alegres*—he was always humming or singing.”
Sánchez López also recounted an armed incident that occurred during an argument, in which she attempted to take her own life using a .25-caliber pistol that the kingpin himself had provided for the security of the home where she lived. During the struggle, the pistol accidentally discharged, causing a superficial wound to Guzmán Loera’s ear:
“He had given me that .25 caliber gun for home security, because it was just us women. He told me, ‘I’m going to give you a weapon.’ I’m not into guns; I had never owned one before.”
“It didn’t cause any real damage; it was just a graze that drew a little blood. Afterward, he just laughed about it, saying, ‘You almost killed me, my queen,’ and things like that. He used to joke about it.”
Regarding the daily routine of the Badiraguato native, the interviewee noted that he used to exercise on a treadmill, eat foods like oatmeal and bread with coffee, keep up with the news, and watch content on Netflix:
“He watched the news and, from time to time, series—things like that, Netflix series. He had his routine and his hobbies; every day he’d get on the treadmill and eat healthily. That’s what I saw.”
On the political front, she categorically denied that her campaign for a seat in the state legislature during the 2013 election had received financial backing from organized crime, asserting that she had explicitly asked Guzmán Loera not to interfere in the election.
