Mexico City.- The Mexican government said Tuesday that there was an agreement between the United States and some member of the Sinaloa Cartel for the handover of at least Joaquín Guzmán López, son of the former leader of the organization imprisoned in the United States, arrested on July 25 upon arriving in Texas on a private plane with the historic Mexican capo Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
“This was apparently an agreement between authorities of the United States government and these people,” said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in his daily morning press conference without clarifying who “these people” were.
“The United States government itself has acknowledged that they conducted negotiations with at least one of the individuals, Joaquín Guzmán López,” he added, leaving open the possibility that Zambada also turned himself in or could have negotiated.
Secretary of Security Rosa Icela Rodríguez added that some of the people who negotiated were in prison and others at liberty, and confirmed that one of the people who negotiated was Joaquín Guzmán López and another, his brother Ovidio, who was arrested and extradited to the United States last year.
According to Rodriguez, Ovidio Guzman Lopez recently obtained a change in his precautionary measure but remains in US custody, which, in his opinion, could indicate that he is acting as a protected witness.
Asked on Tuesday whether “El Chapo” could have participated in the negotiation, Rodriguez did not answer.
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the kingpin’s sons who make up the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos,” had repeatedly considered turning himself in to U.S. authorities, according to information received by Mexico after the arrests.
Washington has not provided any official public information on the arrest of the two drug traffickers who have already been brought before the courts of that country — Zambada in El Paso and Guzmán López in Chicago — accused of various charges related to drug trafficking. Both have pleaded not guilty.
However, Mexico has been disclosing the information it receives from the authorities of the neighboring country, although trying not to strain the already complicated relations between both countries in terms of security.
Versions about the arrests of Zambada and Guzmán López have multiplied in recent weeks as the Mexican government insists on knowing how the two defendants got on the private plane that took them to Texas.
U.S. officials familiar with the case have spoken to various media outlets on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on the matter.
AP reported that Zambada was tricked into boarding the plane, and a lawyer for “El Mayo” told reporters that his client had been kidnapped and put on the plane. The president said prosecutors are already investigating whether such a kidnapping took place.
Other media outlets have reported that it was “El Chapo’s” son who tricked Zambada or have suggested that a recently murdered Sinaloa politician —according to authorities for an attempted robbery— could have been involved in the trap against “El Mayo.” There are also versions that suggest that the 76-year-old drug trafficker, who was ill and appeared in his first hearings in a wheelchair, chose to surrender.
The Mexican president himself did not rule out the possibility that a covert US operation could have taken place on Mexican territory, although he acknowledged that there was no evidence of this.
As has happened during other trials, the proceedings against “El Mayo,” one of the most influential and corrupt Mexican drug traffickers, open the possibility that information about his contacts with authorities may emerge.
In this regard, López Obrador said that it will help to know who protected him “and also the agreements with the United States agencies.” In the case of his government, he seemed confident. “We have drawn the line, the border between crime and authority; there are no links, there are no relations of complicity with anyone.”
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