The US Attorney’s Office revealed details of the kidnapping—on Mexican soil—of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, which ended with the Sinaloa Cartel co-founder’s surrender in the United States.
During the guilty plea hearing of Joaquín Guzmán López, “El Güero”—one of El Chapo Guzmán’s sons—US authorities stated that the defendant violated a clause of his plea agreement with the United States.
They were referring specifically to the events that occurred on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in New Mexico, which culminated in the arrest of El Mayo Zambada with the assistance of Joaquín Guzmán López.
The prosecutor in charge of the case, Andrew Erskine, recounted that Guzmán López summoned El Mayo Zambada—who was never referred to by name, but rather by the nickname Individual A—for a meeting, which was, in reality, a trap orchestrated by Los Chapitos.
During the hearing, it was detailed that Joaquín Guzmán López took El Mayo to a room—most likely at the Huertos del Pedregal ranch, outside Culiacán—where workers employed by El Chapo’s son kidnapped him.
Later, they put him in a truck, took him to an airstrip, sedated him, and put him on a small plane, along with Guzmán López.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Individual A (El Mayo Zambada) was sedated before the plane took off and landed in the United States.
Regarding these events, Erskine asserted that Joaquín Guzmán López “expected to receive credit in the United States for himself and his brother (Ovidio Guzmán, El Ratón) (…) But he will not receive credit for the kidnapping, nor will his brother,” the prosecutor pointed out.
What was said at El Güero’s hearing?
According to El Güero’s guilty plea, which was filed on Monday, December 1st, in the federal court in Chicago, Illinois, before July 25, 2024, El Chapo’s son arranged a meeting in Sinaloa, Mexico, involving Individual A, who was never named, and others.
The meeting required Individual A’s presence to resolve a disagreement between Guzmán López and others, according to the defendant.
The meeting took place on July 25, 2024, in Sinaloa, Mexico. Guzmán López asked his guest to accompany him to a private room in a building, where a window had been removed beforehand, in order to kidnap Individual A.
“Once both men were alone in the room, Guzmán López locked the door. At that moment, coordinated by Guzmán López, several men working for him entered the room through the window and handcuffed Individual A and placed a bag over his head. The men, armed with firearms, took Individual A outside through the window and placed him on their laps in the back seat of a waiting pickup truck,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.
Guzmán López then got into the same truck and drove for about 10 to 15 minutes to a nearby airstrip, where a small plane was waiting. The men working for El Chapo Guzmán’s son put Individual A on the small plane, and then a pilot and El Güero boarded.
“Individual A was strapped into one of the seats. After the aircraft took off, Guzmán López prepared a drink laced with sedatives, some of which he drank, and some of which he gave to Individual A.”
Then, on Guzmán López’s instructions, the pilot flew from Mexico to New Mexico, in the United States, where he landed. The rest of the story is well known.
El Güero surrendered to the U.S. government and, in doing so, turned over his father’s former partner, Ismael Zambada García, who is never mentioned by name in the legal document detailing his kidnapping, but whose account fully coincides with the narrative of events.
However, the U.S. government asserted that Joaquín Guzmán López himself has acknowledged that U.S. authorities did not request or approve the kidnapping of El Mayo Zambada, and that he will not receive credit for their actions.
