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Days after it was reported that US authorities arrested two of the top bosses of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel (Joaquin Guzmán López and Ismael Zambada Garcia), details about the arrest are coming to light, and they just raise more questions than answers.
According The New York Times, it appears that El Chapo's son, Joaquín Guzmán López, actually kidnapped and forced his underling Ismael Zambada García to accompany him on the ill-fated (for them) flight from Mexico to Texas, where authorities waited for them to land before putting and the two men in custody. Why López would take such measures is the million dollar question, especially since Garcia has been on the run for some time.
However, López did what he did and apparently outwitted Garcia in what turned out to be his final moments in Mexico.
The New York Times References:
Mr. Zambada García, one of his country's most wanted men, had come down from a hideout in the mountains last week and was ambushed in the Mexican city of Culiacán in a friendly meeting with Mr. Guzmán López, according to three federal officials law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details of the case. Mr. Guzmán López then forcibly flew Mr. Zambada García in a Beechcraft King Air turboprop across the border, where he was arrested by U.S. federal agents, the officials said.
That version of events echoed that offered recently by Mr. Zambada García's lawyer, who told the New York Times and other media that his client had not been tricked into boarding the plane but had in fact been kidnapped. Mr. Guzmán López, the lawyer said, lured Mr. Zambada García away with a group of henchmen who handcuffed him, stuck a bag over his head and put him in a car and then on the plane, where he remained tied up throughout. of the flight.
Did El Chapo's son have a personal grudge against Lopez or something? Although he had apparently been negotiating his surrender to US authorities for some time, why would he take one of his top bosses with him? Would such a move get him a lighter prison sentence? And did the authorities know that Garcia would be taken against his will?
Although Garcia's attorney says his client never intended to turn himself in to authorities, what's done is done, and this particular defense won't lead to him regaining his freedom anytime soon.
Legal experts say that even if Mr. Zambada García arrived in the United States under physical duress, it may have no bearing on the criminal charges he faces. There is longstanding legal precedent that allows prosecutors to pursue cases against defendants brought to the United States against their will, experts said.
“US law is quite clear that even kidnappings in violation of extradition conditions do not provide a basis for relief for the accused,” said Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor and professor at Columbia Law School.
However, that seems to be the only hand Garcia has to play not only in a court of law, but also in a court of public opinion.
El Chapo must be in his jail cell somewhere just shaking his head.
What do you think of this latest twist on it Narcos novel; Let us know in the comments section below.
