From Prison, “El Chapo” Guzmán Planned with the United States the Capture of “El Mayo”

---

This article is a translation from Proceso Magazine. You can find the original piece here.

Under the orders of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, his son Joaquín Guzmán López negotiated with various U.S. agencies for the capture of “El Mayo” Zambada in exchange for benefits for himself and his brother Ovidio Guzmán. This plan began to take shape about a year ago.

4/11/2024 · 05:00 am

El Chapo Guzmán, the mastermind behind the fall of “El Mayo” Zambada

By Luis Chaparro – Proceso Magazine

WASHINGTON, D.C. – About a year ago (the source couldn’t specify an exact date), drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was allowed to send a letter to Mexico through his lawyers. The letter was addressed to his eldest son with Griselda López: Joaquín Guzmán López.

According to two sources from the U.S. federal government and two members of the Zambada family, in the letter, El Chapo gave a strange instruction: “You already know who the targets are. You know what needs to be done.”

The letter ordered the capture of his compadre Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada to hand him over to U.S. authorities, enabling negotiations for benefits for both Joaquín and his other son, Ovidio Guzmán López.

Of these two sons, Joaquín Guzmán López faces fewer charges in the United States and could potentially be released sooner. El Chapo was aware of this and sought to leverage that fact, according to consulted sources.

El Chapo’s strategy, according to these sources, was as follows: if Joaquín surrendered in exchange for Ovidio’s release, both could eventually leave prison.

However, for this plan to succeed, Joaquín needed to deliver someone significant, someone valuable to the United States. And who better than Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada?

Through the letter, El Chapo instructed his son Joaquín on his next steps: to contact U.S. agencies, plan his surrender, betray El Mayo, and secure Ovidio’s release.

The trap that ensnared the elusive drug lord El Mayo Zambada was orchestrated by El Chapo and carried out by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). This account was shared with Proceso by two sources from a U.S. federal agency during a September meeting at a hotel in Arizona.

An agent, who requested anonymity, explained:

“The idea came from Joaquín (Guzmán López). He was the one who reached out to us to turn himself in, but he already had a plan to bring in someone else outside of his family.”

According to sources (later corroborated by another source within Los Chapitos’ faction), Joaquín allegedly offered to surrender voluntarily but required security guarantees and benefits for his brother Ovidio’s sentence.

“He knew they wouldn’t avoid prison, but he asked for benefits for both himself and Ovidio,” the source said.

Federal agency sources who spoke with Proceso said they didn’t know if those benefits were ultimately granted to both, but they confirmed that HSI fulfilled its promises “completely.”

“What HSI promised was that the operation to surrender Joaquín and bring in El Mayo would go smoothly. HSI arranged the pilot, aircraft, and permits to enter and land in the United States,” explained the source.

“These planes are what we call covert—they’re undercover. No matter how much you search, you won’t find their original registration. They belong to HSI and are registered and licensed through front companies,” detailed Óscar Hagelsieb, who led the HSI office in Ciudad Juárez until 2023.

Hagelsieb explained that the agency doesn’t directly promise benefits, but any benefits Joaquín Guzmán López may have negotiated were handled through the agency, his lawyers, and the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice…

This is a fragment from the main text published in the November 2024 issue of Proceso magazine, edition 0017. The digital version of this issue can be purchased at this link.