Mexican drug lord 'El Mayo' Zambada says he was ambushed in new account of US arrest

By Lizbeth Diaz

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was tricked by the son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and forced to board a plane bound for the United States last month, he said in a statement on Saturday.

The statement distributed by Zambada's lawyer provides the drug lord's version of how U.S. authorities were able to capture both Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who is believed to have headed another faction of the criminal group, outside El Paso, Texas.

Zambada said he was "ambushed" during what was supposed to be a meeting with Guzman Lopez and Sinaloa state officials including Governor Ruben Rocha and Hector Cuen, who had recently been elected as federal lawmaker for the upcoming congressional period.

The state government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zambada said he first saw Cuen at a ranch outside of state capital Culiacan, and then Guzman Lopez, "whom I have known since he was a young boy, and he gestured for me to follow him."

Zambada said he followed Guzman Lopez, "trusting the nature of the meeting and the people involved," and was led into a dark room.

Authorities say the two main factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, one headed by Zambada and the other headed by El Chapo's sons, have at times had a rocky relationship since El Chapo's 2016 capture.

Zambada said once he entered the room, he was knocked to the ground by a group of men, tied up and had a hood placed over his head. He was taken in the back of a pick-up truck to a nearby landing strip where a plane waited.

Guzman Lopez bound Zambada with zip ties to a seat and the plane left for the United States carrying just the two men and the pilot, Zambada said.

The Guzman family lawyer has repeatedly denied that Zambada was forcibly taken, and instead called it a voluntary surrender after extended negotiations between the drug traffickers and the U.S. government.

The U.S., through its embassy in Mexico, said on Friday that Guzman Lopez surrendered voluntarily, though it seemed Zambada had been taken against his will.

In the statement, Zambada also said Cuen was killed when the drug lord was taken, and that a state police officer and bodyguard accompanying Zambada had not been seen since. 

Sinaloa authorities previously said that Cuen was believed to be killed in a carjacking at a gas station in Culiacan.

Both Zambada and Guzman Lopez have pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges in U.S. court.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Rod Nickel)