Jeffrey Lichtman, known as the lawyer for El Chapo’s family, will represent Joaquín Guzmán López, son of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, who was arrested last Thursday at the Santa Teresa airport in New Mexico, near El Paso, Texas.
Lichtman confirmed to U.S. media that “I will be with him in court on Tuesday in Chicago,” referring to the appearance that Joaquín Guzmán is scheduled for at 11:00 AM local time (10:00 AM central Mexico time).
Guzmán was arrested along with Ismael El Mayo Zambada, who had so far eluded authorities. According to Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Pérez of Dallas, Guzmán betrayed Mayo. “My client did not surrender or negotiate any conditions with the U.S. government,” Pérez said in a statement. “Joaquín Guzmán López forcibly kidnapped my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquín. They tied his legs and placed a black bag over his head.”
See also: Unused plastic ties, gansitos, and chips on the plane that transported El Mayo Zambada
El Mayo Zambada is detained without bail and pleaded not guilty Photo: Archive EL UNIVERSAL
The lawyer detailed that Zambada, who is currently 76 years old, was thrown into the back of a truck, forced onto a plane, and tied to the seat by Guzmán López himself.
When asked about it, Lichtman told USA Today that Zambada “is free to employ any defense he deems appropriate to defend himself against the charges.”
The newspaper detailed how the arrest of the two leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel unfolded, citing a pilot whose name he preferred not to disclose but who was at the airport when the arrests occurred.
He noted that the first to get off the plane was Guzmán López. “He shook hands with all the law enforcement agents,” the pilot claimed, adding that later Zambada got off and was “quietly detained.”
Inside the aircraft, chips, gansitos, and “unused plastic ties in a plastic bag” were found.
While Zambada remains in El Paso, Texas, where he is scheduled to appear on Thursday, August 1, it is expected that Guzmán López, who was transferred to MCC prison in Chicago on Friday, will appear this Tuesday. His brother Ovidio was also in that same prison, and his name disappeared from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) registry on July 23. The U.S. government clarified that Ovidio Guzmán, extradited to the country in September 2023, remains in their custody.
Ovidio Guzmán could have been transferred to another prison, or he may have become a protected witness, a version that, acknowledged the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, is gaining traction.
See also: “El Mayo” Zambada: four judicial cases for which he could spend the rest of his days in prison
Known as a shrewd operator skilled in corrupting officials, Zambada has a reputation for being able to negotiate with everyone, including his rivals. He is accused in several cases in the United States, including in New York and California. Federal prosecutors filed a new indictment against him in New York last February, describing him as the “primary leader of the criminal enterprise responsible for importing enormous quantities of narcotics into the United States.”
Zambada has pleaded not guilty, according to court records.
