The co-founder of the Sinaloa drug cartel claimed Saturday that he had been kidnapped in Mexico and delivered into US custody against his will, deepening international speculation over the murky circumstances behind his dramatic arrest.
"I was ambushed," Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, 76, said in a statement released through his lawyer that he said aimed at clearing up the rumors and misinformation surrounding his capture.
Zambada, co-founder of the powerful Mexican cartel that US authorities say is responsible for the majority of the drugs killing Americans, was detained on July 25 along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of another co-founder, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
They were arrested after landing in El Paso, Texas, on a private plane.
Zambada's lawyer and the US ambassador to Mexico have both previously said that he was taken against his will.
In his statement, Zambada said Guzman Lopez had invited him to a meeting at a ranch just outside of Culiacan, Mexico, on July 25.
There, he greeted several people before spotting Guzman Lopez, "whom I have known since he was a young boy, and he gestured for me to follow him," Zambada said in his statement.
He said that, "trusting" those involved, he followed "without hesitation."
"I was led into another room which was dark. As soon as I set foot inside of that room, I was ambushed," Zambada continued.
"A group of men assaulted me, knocked me to the ground, and placed a dark-colored hood over my head. They tied me up and handcuffed me, then forced me into the bed of a pickup truck."
He said he suffered "significant injuries" to his back, knee and wrists during the ordeal.
Zambada said he was driven to a nearby landing strip and "forced onto a private plane."
There, he said Guzman Lopez removed his hood and "bound me with zip ties to the seat. No one else was aboard the plane except Joaquin, the pilot, and myself."
He said they flew directly to El Paso, where US federal agents took him into custody on the tarmac.
Zambada said he felt it was important that the truth come out about his arrest, citing what he said were "false stories" about his "abduction."
Zambada co-founded the Sinaloa cartel in the 1990s with Guzman's father "El Chapo," and it has since risen to be one of the most powerful criminal operations in Mexico, alongside the Jalisco New Generation cartel.
Zambada escaped arrest for much of his life and was one of the most wanted drug traffickers in the United States, with a $15 million reward offered for information that could lead to his arrest.
Last week, Zambada appeared in a Texas court while in a wheelchair. He pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder.
For his part, Guzman Lopez was transferred by authorities to Chicago, where he pleaded "not guilty" to drug trafficking charges.
"El Chapo" has been serving a life sentence in the United States for drug trafficking since 2019.
Spiraling criminal violence has seen more than 450,000 people murdered in Mexico since the government of then-president Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive against drug gangs in 2006.