The lawyer representing captured drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada rebutted claims that his client had been tricked into boarding an aircraft bound for the United States, where he was arrested Thursday, alleging that he was “forcibly kidnapped” by a son of the infamous Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera.
Zambada, 76, was taken into custody after he arrived at a small airport near El Paso, along with Joaquín Guzmán López, a 38-year-old son of El Chapo, the cartel’s co-founder the cartel alongside Zambada.
The attorney, Frank Perez, rejected reports that Zambada — who has pleaded not guilty to an array of drug trafficking, gun and money laundering charges — had surrendered or been duped onto the plane.