Sinaloa drug cartel leader “El Mayo” says in letter he was “kidnapped and forcibly brought to the US”

Sinaloa drug cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada describes what he says led him to commit suicide in a letter he wrote from prison and released by his lawyer. until his arrest in the United States.

“El Mayo” and Joaquin Guzman LopezZambada, one of 12 children of notorious kingpin El Chapo, was arrested without incident on July 25 near El Paso, Texas, federal authorities said. The arrest of Zambada, a longtime fugitive from the U.S., “strikes at the heart of the cartel responsible for the majority of the drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, that are killing Americans from coast to coast,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said at the time.

Guzman Lopez38, allegedly tricked Zambada, 76, into boarding a plane on the day of their arrest, A person familiar with the investigation confirmed to CBS News, telling “El Mayo” that they were looking at real estate in Mexico. Guzman Lopez is said to to close a deal contacted the US authorities on behalf of himself and his brother Ovidio Guzmán López.

“El Mayo” disputes that story in the letter obtained by CBS News on Saturday. He wrote that there were “many false reports” and that he would provide the “true facts” of that day. He said he wanted everyone to know from the beginning that he did not turn himself in, make a deal or come voluntarily.

“On the contrary, I was kidnapped and forcibly brought to the United States against my will,” he wrote.

Zambada wrote that he had been asked by Guzman Lopez to attend a meeting to help resolve differences among political leaders in the state of Sinaloa. On the morning of July 25, Zambada wrote, he arrived early for their meeting in Huertos del Pedregal, just outside Culiacan. He saw a large number of armed men in green military uniforms, but because he trusted the meeting and those present, he was led into a dark room, where he said he was ambushed. A hood was placed over his head and he was put on a plane for a flight that lasted 2.5 to 3 hours, he wrote.

He arrived in the US and was taken into custody by federal officials. “El Mayo” pleaded not guilty in El Paso District Court, and waived his arraignment and detention, court records show.

The cartel leader wrote in the letter that he did not kill Héctor Cuen, a former federal congressman and mayor of Culiacan, who was present at the meeting. He also said he had nothing to do with the disappearance of José Rosario Heras López, commander of the Sinaloa State Judicial Police, and security detail Rodolfo Chaidez, who were also present at the meeting.

He said that any reports to the contrary were false. He ended the letter by calling on the governments of the United States and Mexico to be “transparent” about his kidnapping, subsequent disappearance and death.

“I also call on the people of Sinaloa to exercise restraint and maintain peace in our state,” Zambada wrote. “Nothing can be solved by violence. We have been down that road before, and everyone loses.”

Robert Legare contributed to this report.