Inside the cartel coup that saw El Chapo’s son lure rival drug kingpin ‘El Mayo’ to the US to be arrested: ‘Once-in-a-lifetime caper’

Somewhere in solitary at the Florence Supermax prison in Colorado where he’s jailed for life, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán must be smiling.

That’s because US officials say Guzman’s son, Joaquín Guzmán López, apparently tricked the world’s savviest and most powerful drug kingpin, Sinaloa cartel founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, into boarding a small plane in Hermosillo, Mexico that ultimately landed in the US — where both were arrested.

It was a dramatic end to Zambada’s career as a cartel kingpin.

He was once El Chapo’s greatest ally and co-founded the cartel with him — but then turned on him. When El Chapo was arrested, Zambada’s son and brother both turned state’s witness and testified against Guzmán.

Zambada’s arrest was also a coup for Guzmán López and his brother, both of whom may be hoping to get their sentences shortened in exchanged for cooperating with the US in the case against Zambada, one source told The Post.

Zambada was apparently lured onto the plane with the promise he and Guzman Lopez would check out some real estate in Mexico, an official familiar with the operation told CNN

Mexican kingpin Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada’s arrest with El Chapo’s son likely to set off violent jockeying for power

Instead, the aircraft landed in El Paso, Texas, Thursday, where US Homeland Security agents were waiting.

“Epic, once-in-a-lifetime caper,” one law enforcement source who works in Mexico told The Los Angeles Times. “The old man got tricked.”

Zambada and Guzmán López had both already been indicted when they were arrested.

They face “multiple charges” in connection with the infamous Mexico-based criminal organization, “including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement .

Guzmán López, along with his brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, 34, were both accused of being cartel leaders. Ovidio was arrested in Mexico in January 2023 before being extradited to the US in September to face drug and money laundering charges. He pleaded not guilty in September.

Records on the US Bureau of Prisons website appeared to indicate Ovidio was released July 23 — two days before Zambada and Guzmán López were arrested. But the US Department of Justice has since denied that, telling CBS News that Ovidio remained in custody.

Mexican drug kingpin Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, who co-founded Sinaloa cartel, in US custody with El Chapo’s son: sources

Derek Maltz, a 28-year veteran of the Drug Enforcement Administration who was running the DEA’s Special Operations division in 2014 when El Chapo was arrested, said it’s very possible Joaquin Guzmán López Jr. and Ovidio may be working together.

“Based on my experience, it seems very possible that the brothers developed a plan to arrest and capture El Mayo with the help of law enforcement in the US,” Maltz told The Post Saturday. “The drug business is very dirty and people routinely turn on each other, like when El Mayo’s son and brother testified against El Chapo.”

Maltz and others agreed, however, that no one except the agents involved in the investigation knows the exact details of what went down to get “El Mayo” on the plane,

It’s unusual, experts said, for such a powerful and security-conscious drug lord to get on a plane without at least someone from his entourage joining him.

“I’ve got to say it’s a little weird,” Maltz said of Zambada’s apparent gullibility, but added, “we could just be looking at some very clever law enforcement strategy.”

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Still others theorize the security-conscious Zambada, who is now old and reportedly suffering from diabetes, decided to surrender in a deal and pass the drug kingpin torch to a younger generation.

Known for cannily eluding capture for more than three decades, Zambada lived a low-profile life in the mountains surrounding the city of Culiacán, the capital of the Sinaloa state, where he owns thousands of acres of farmland and cattle ranches.

Unlike El Chapo, who was incarcerated twice and escaped twice before being extradited to the US in 2014 where he is serving a life sentence, Zambada had never set foot in a prison.

He was known for being an astute operator, skilled at corrupting officials and having an ability to negotiate with everyone, including competitors.

“Zambada was very careful about security and didn’t use cellphones,” Margarito Flores, who once worked as a Chicago pointman for Zambada and El Chapo, told the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Flores described the drug lord as someone who eschewed jewelry and gave the appearance of being a simple rancher.

Mexican journalist José Reveles and many others have predicted that “El Mayo’s” arrest will lead to bloodbaths in Mexico as drug traffickers battle to fill the power vacuum.

Zambada pleaded not guilty to charges against him, but did not appear in federal court in El Paso. A federal judge ordered him held without bond. His next court date is July 31.

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