Documentary revisits Vicentillo's Chapo testimony
Original reporting: Infobae México
What happened
Infobae México recounts a documentary's account of Vicente Zambada Niebla greeting El Chapo during the 2019 trial while rejecting the defense's portrayal of them as enemies. The report revisits his cooperation and 14 hours of testimony.
Reporting and context
A documentary revisits Vicente Zambada Niebla's testimony against Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in 2019, including a courtroom greeting between the two men despite the witness's cooperation with US prosecutors, according to Infobae México.
The outlet reported that investigative journalist Jesús Esquivel recounted the exchange in La caída de El Mayo, a three-part documentary available on Netflix from October 29, 2026. Zambada Niebla, known as “El Vicentillo” and the son of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, nodded toward Guzmán and brought his fist to his chest. Guzmán returned the greeting.
Their relationship included a family bond: Guzmán was godfather to Zambada Niebla's youngest son. During testimony in federal court in Brooklyn, Zambada Niebla rejected defense lawyer Eduardo Balarezo's suggestion that cooperating against Guzmán made them enemies. He said Guzmán knew of his agreement to cooperate and that he had not foreseen Guzmán becoming a defendant when he agreed to help prosecutors.
Infobae México reported that Zambada Niebla testified over three days, totaling 14 hours. Guzmán's defense argued that its client was a scapegoat and that Ismael Zambada, then still at large, was the organization's real leader. Questioned by prosecutor Amanda Liskamm, the witness described Guzmán as an actual drug trafficker and a cartel leader like his father.
The testimony also covered calls Zambada Niebla said he made to his father from a US federal prison at the DEA's request. He said the agency monitored conversations in which he urged his father to surrender. Balarezo challenged whether those were their only communications and said the witness's lawyers also carried messages.
The article places the exchange within Zambada Niebla's history of cooperation. It attributes an account of his work for the Sinaloa Cartel from 1997 to 2009 to a diary accessed by journalist Anabel Hernández. It also recounts his March 2009 trip from Culiacán to Mexico City to meet DEA agents and his subsequent detention by Mexican authorities.
Original report: Infobae México.