MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� The U.S. ambassador to Mexico confirmed Friday that drug lord was brought to the United States against his will when he arrived in Texas in July on a plane along with fellow drug lord Joaqu铆n Guzm谩n L贸pez.
Zambada's attorney had earlier claimed the longtime chief of the Sinaloa cartel had been kidnapped. But officials had not confirmed that and Zambada's age and apparent ill-health had led some to speculate he turned himself in.
U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar on Friday said 鈥渢he evidence we saw ... is that they had brought El Mayo Zambada against his will.鈥�
鈥淭his was an operation between cartels, where one turned the other one in,鈥� Salazar said. Zambada's faction of the Sinaloa cartel has been engaged in fierce fighting with another faction, led by the sons of imprisoned . Guzm谩n L贸pez is the half-brother of the factional leaders.
Salazar said no U.S. personnel, resources or aircraft were involved in the flight on which Guzm谩n L贸pez turned himself in, and that U.S. officials were 鈥渟urprised鈥� when the two .
Frank P茅rez, Zambada鈥檚 attorney, said in a statement in July that 鈥渕y client neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the U.S. government.鈥�
鈥淛oaqu铆n Guzm谩n L贸pez forcibly kidnapped my client," P茅rez wrote. "He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin. His legs were tied, and a black bag was placed over his head.鈥�
P茅rez went on to say that Zambada, 76, was thrown in the back of a pickup truck, forced onto a plane and tied to the seat by Guzm谩n L贸pez.
In early August, Zambada made his second appearance in federal court in Texas after being taken into U.S. custody the week before.
Guzm谩n L贸pez had apparently long been in negotiations with U.S. authorities about possibly turning himself in. to drug trafficking and other charges in federal court in Chicago.
But U.S. officials said they had almost no warning when Guzm谩n L贸pez's plane landed at an airport near El Paso. Both men . They are charged in the U.S. with various drug crimes.
Salazar said the plane had taken off from Sinaloa 鈥� the Pacific coast state where the cartel is headquartered 鈥� and had filed no flight plan. He stressed the pilot wasn't American, nor was the plane.
The implication is that Guzm谩n L贸pez intended to turn himself in, and brought Zambada with him to procure more favorable treatment, but his motives remain unclear.
Zambada was thought to be more involved in day-to-day operations of the cartel than his better-known and flashier boss, 鈥淓l Chapo,鈥� who was in the U.S. in 2019.
Zambada is charged , including in New York and California. Prosecutors brought a new indictment against him in New York in February, describing him as the 鈥減rincipal leader of the criminal enterprise responsible for importing enormous quantities of narcotics into the United States.鈥�
The capture of Zambada and Guzm谩n L贸pez 鈥� and the idea that one cartel faction had turned in the leader of the other 鈥� raised fears that the already divided cartel could descend into a spiral of violent infighting.
That prompted Mexican President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador to take the unusual step of to drug cartels not to fight each other. ___
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