‘There was negotiation’, says lawyer – El Financiero

Faced with the hypothesis of a possible betrayal or kidnapping of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada by ‘Los Chapitos’ to hand him over to the United States, José Luis González, lawyer for Joaquín Guzmán López, confirmed that the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel and his client voluntarily turned themselves in in El Paso, Texas.

The defense attorney for the son of ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, who remains in a maximum security prison in the United States, confessed that both drug traffickers had been negotiating their arrest with U.S. authorities for four years, so he ruled out kidnapping or betrayal of ‘El Mayo’ Zambada.

“Talks were held four years ago that culminated in the surrender of Joaquín Guzmán López and Ismael ‘Mayo’ Zambada García, which culminated in the past few days when they surrendered voluntarily and without pressure from any Mexican or American authority (…) yes, of course there was negotiation,” he said in an interview with Azucena Uresti on Wednesday, July 31.

In response, Luis González ruled out the existence of an operation or strategy by Mexican or US authorities to arrest the two Mexican drug lords: “We exonerate the Mexican and US governments of any responsibility, since the handover to the American government was voluntary and in accordance with our decisions.”

To end rumors about an alleged rivalry between the family of ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán and his former partner in the Sinaloa Cartel, the defender stressed that the relationship between the relatives of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, “for 50 years has been impeccable, respectful and harmonious.”

He even claimed that there are kinship and marriages between the two families: “As in all families, there are problems, but they have never distanced themselves from each other or killed each other,” he added.

‘El Mayo Zambada came to the US against him’

Zambada, 76, was captured by authorities upon landing in El Paso (Texas) in a surprise attack after evading justice for decades. Joaquín Guzmán López, son of ‘El Chapo’, was also captured along with him.

His lawyer in Texas, Frank Perez, said in a statement that ‘El Mayo’ came to the United States “against his will.” According to leaks to the American media, Guzman Lopez brought ‘El Mayo’ to the United States under false pretenses to benefit his brother Ovidio Guzman, who was extradited to the United States in September of last year.

The US Justice Department, which presented the arrest of Zamaba and Guzmán López as a blow to drug cartels and the “fentanyl threat” in the country, has declined to provide further information on the case. Mexican authorities have said they were neither aware of the operation nor did they collaborate in the arrest.

Secretary of State Rosa Icela Rodriguez said yesterday that her government has already opened an investigation into the case and revealed that the United States did not plan the flight that led to the arrest of ‘El Mayo’ and Guzman in El Paso.

With information from EFE