Detained Mexican kingpin 'El Mayo' was 'kidnapped' by El Chapo's son, lawyer says

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Notorious Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was "forcibly kidnapped" by a son of his former partner Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who brought him to the United States where both men are detained, Zambada's defense lawyer said on Saturday.

Frank Perez, Zambada's lawyer, said El Chapo's son Joaquin Guzman Lopez and six men in military uniforms ambushed Zambada near Culiacan in Mexico's Sinaloa state, forced him onto a plane and brought him to the United States against his will. Zambada pleaded not guilty to drug charges on Friday in El Paso, Texas, federal court.

"Joaquin Guzman Lopez forcibly kidnapped my client," Perez said in a statement. Perez said the incident caused some back and leg issues for Zambada, who was in a wheelchair during his initial court appearance in El Paso on Friday.

Asked about Perez's assertion, Guzman Lopez's defense lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said, "I've got no comment other than to note that Mr. Zambada is free to employ any defense he'd like against the charges he faces."

Perez had said on Friday that Zambada did not come to the United States voluntarily but did not use the word "kidnapped."

In conversations over two days, multiple U.S. officials briefed on the operation made no mention of any alleged use of force by Guzman Lopez.

Representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice and Mexico's presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Earlier on Saturday, Reuters reported that Guzman Lopez - who planned to give himself up to authorities - duped Zambada into boarding a propeller plane by telling him they were flying to see real estate in northern Mexico, according to two current and one former U.S. officials.

Instead, the plane landed at a small municipal airport near El Paso, where federal agents took Zambada, who is in his late 70s, and Guzman Lopez, who is about 38 years old, into custody.

The operation was a coup for U.S. authorities that may reshape the Mexican criminal landscape. Zambada is one of the most consequential traffickers in Mexican history, but he and El Chapo's sons have had a fractious relationship since their father was extradited to the United States in 2017.

El Chapo is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado.

Guzman Lopez is expected to make an initial court appearance in federal court in Chicago next week, where he faces drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

Zambada is due back in court on Thursday.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Drazen Jorgic and Raul Cortes; Editing by Noeleen Walder and William Mallard)