How El Chapo's son helped the US capture El Mayo?

One of the two arrested was the son of imprisoned former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who had previously planned to surrender.

Meanwhile, the other man is the notorious drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. He was tricked onto the plane by El Chapo's aforementioned son in this incident, according to US officials familiar with the situation confirmed.

The plane believed to be carrying Mexican drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López in Santa Teresa, New Mexico on July 25, 2024. Photo: Reuters

El Mayo's capture followed lengthy surrender negotiations between US authorities and El Chapo's son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, sources said, but they were still caught by surprise when he sent a last-minute message that he was coming with a drug lord whom US authorities had been chasing for four decades.

According to senior US security sources, Guzman Lopez convinced El Mayo to board the plane by telling him they were flying to view real estate in northern Mexico.

Upon receiving the information, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the two agencies carrying out the operation, quickly mobilized undercover agents in El Paso to carry out the arrest.

A worker at Dona Ana County International Airport, near El Paso, said he saw a Beechcraft King Air plane land on the runway Thursday afternoon, where federal agents were waiting. “Two individuals got off the plane… and were easily taken into custody,” the witness said.

El Mayo's arrest made the front pages of many Mexican newspapers. Photo: Reuters

El Mayo is accused of being one of the most dangerous cartel bosses in Mexican history, co-founding the Sinaloa cartel with El Chapo, who was extradited to the United States in 2017 and is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado.

It remains unclear why Guzman Lopez betrayed his father's longtime associates, but sources say it was likely because he wanted to secure a better plea deal from US authorities and help his brother, Ovidio, who was also arrested and extradited to the US in 2023.

Bui Huy (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/con-trai-cua-el-chapo-da-giup-my-bat-dong-dang-khet-tieng-el-mayo-nhu-the-nao-post305225.html