While prosecutors in the Southern District of New York described damning evidence,<\/a> the indictment was equally notable for all that was not mentioned. One name in particular was conspicuously absent: Ismael \u201cEl Mayo\u201d Zambada, a longtime partner of El Chapo with a reputation as the Sinaloa cartel\u2019s most powerful godfather.<\/p>\n The charges against Rocha Moya and nine other current and former Sinaloan officials have roiled Mexican politics and heightened scrutiny of the cases of Zambada and two Chapitos already in U.S. custody.<\/p>\n Beyond a ledger of monthly bribe payments to top Sinaloan officials that prosecutors said was \u201crecovered from Mexico\u201d during the investigation, the indictment appeared to rely on evidence that had to have been obtained through extraordinary surveillance \u2014 or from people intimately familiar with Los Chapitos. <\/p>\n Many cartel leaders, feeling the heat from U.S. authorities, have turned on one another in recent years \u2014 and the latest case has left questions hanging about whether further betrayals are yet to come. Two sons of El Chapo remain fugitives, though there is talk they may strike a deal to avoid the fate of being killed or captured. <\/p>\n Sinaloa Gov. Rub\u00e9n Rocha Moya, left, attends an event in Mexico City on April 17. Rocha Moya was charged this month by U.S. authorities with being corrupted by the Sinaloa cartel. He has denied the allegations.<\/p>\n (Luis Barron \/ Eyepix Group \/ Sipa USA via AP)<\/p>\n Some suspect the chain of events that led to the recent charges began nearly two years ago,<\/a> when a private jet arrived at a small New Mexico airport carrying three people.<\/p>\n One was Zambada, a septuagenarian kingpin with so many judges, generals and politicians in his pocket that he was able to avoid spending a single night in jail in a criminal career that stretched back to the 1970s. The others on board were the pilot and Joaqu\u00edn Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez, a 39-year-old son of El Chapo and Zambada\u2019s godson.<\/p>\n According to Zambada\u2019s version of what transpired, told through a statement issued by his lawyer,<\/a> he was ambushed and kidnapped by Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez, who lured him to a villa on the outskirts of Sinaloa\u2019s capital, Culiac\u00e1n, where he expected to mediate a dispute between Rocha Moya and another Sinaloan politician.<\/p>\n Rocha Moya claims his name was used as bait. The governor has denied any knowledge of the plot and has an alibi that he was traveling to Los Angeles that day. Zambada only described seeing the other politician, who he said was gunned down at the scene.<\/a><\/p>\n Zambada said Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez forced him onto the plane and then delivered him to FBI and Department of Homeland Security agents waiting on the New Mexico tarmac. <\/p>\n Zambada pleaded guilty in August<\/a> to charges he co-founded the Sinaloa cartel and trafficked thousands of tons of drugs. Appearing in a Brooklyn federal courtroom, he said his business relied on \u201cpaying bribes to police and military commanders and to politicians so they would allow us to operate freely.\u201d<\/p>\n It was long speculated that Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez had snatched Zambada in hopes of currying favor with U.S. authorities. That theory was confirmed when he reached a plea agreement in December in the U.S. District Court in Chicago. <\/p>\n At the time of his surrender, Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez faced a raft of U.S. federal charges, which could have carried a life sentence. By cooperating, he will serve far less time \u2014 a minimum of 10 years, according to a transcript of his plea hearing reviewed by The Times. <\/p>\n Joaqu\u00edn Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez, a 39-year-old son of the Sinaloa cartel leader known as \u201cEl Chapo,\u201d was arrested on July 25, 2024, in New Mexico, along with his godfather, Ismael \u201cEl Mayo\u201d Zambada.<\/p>\n (Associated Press)<\/p>\n His plea agreement said U.S. authorities \u201cdid not request, induce, sanction, approve or condone the kidnapping\u201d of Zambada, referred to as \u201cIndividual A.\u201d The agreement said Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez acted \u201cin the hopes of receiving cooperation credit.\u201d <\/p>\n At his plea hearing in Chicago, he told the judge he had studied finance in college before joining his brothers in the drug trade. He said he was taking medication for anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s only in the business because his brothers are bullies,\u201d said one law enforcement source familiar with his case not authorized to speak publicly.<\/p>\n One of those brothers is Ovidio Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez, who has been in U.S. custody since 2023. He pleaded guilty to various charges last July, when court filings revealed that he too is cooperating with U.S. authorities.<\/p>\n Ovidio Guzm\u00e1n L\u00f3pez, a leader of the Sinaloa cartel faction known as Los Chapitos, was detained on Oct. 17, 2019, by Mexican security forces. He is now in custody in the United States.<\/p>\n (Uncredited \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n Their half-sibling is the alleged ringleader of Los Chapitos: Iv\u00e1n Archivaldo Guzm\u00e1n Salazar. U.S. authorities have offered a reward of $10 million<\/a> for his capture.<\/p>\n Guzm\u00e1n Salazar, 42, is a key figure in the case against Rocha Moya, with the indictment claiming he commanded his army of \u201csicarios\u201d to wage a campaign of terror in order to ensure the governor\u2019s 2021 election.<\/p>\n Two sources familiar with the ongoing cases but not authorized to speak publicly said Guzm\u00e1n Salazar and his younger brother have been in contact with U.S. authorities about the possibility of a negotiated surrender. One of the sources said the discussions had been underway for a year, and suspected the brothers had been waiting to see how their half-siblings\u2019 cases play out before making their move.<\/p>\n The lawyer for the brothers, Jeffrey Lichtman, did not respond to questions from The Times. <\/p>\n If Guzm\u00e1n Salazar ever faces justice in the U.S. \u2014 where he is under multiple federal indictments \u2014 it\u2019s unclear whether he would be charged with any crimes in connection with Zambada\u2019s kidnapping. <\/p>\n So far, nobody has been held to account for the killing of H\u00e9ctor Melesio Cu\u00e9n Ojeda, a political rival of Rocha Moya who Zambada says was shot to death during his abduction. Zambada also said two of his bodyguards, one of them a Sinaloa state police commander, have not been \u201cseen or heard from since.\u201d <\/p>\n The sources who spoke with The Times said the plane that carried Zambada to the U.S. belonged to Guzm\u00e1n Salazar, suggesting it was he who orchestrated the plot.<\/p>\n The pilot was apparently released after landing and allowed to return to Mexico. He was later arrested in Sinaloa by Mexican security forces and quietly handed over to the Trump administration last August,<\/a> along with more than two dozen other suspected cartel figures.<\/p>\n Sources familiar with the case identified him as Mauro Alberto Nunez Ojeda, aka Jondo. <\/p>\n Court records show he pleaded guilty to federal charges last month in Washington, D.C., admitting that his job in the cartel was to \u201cwork directly\u201d for Guzm\u00e1n Salazar, overseeing his fleet of aircraft, serving as his personal pilot and ferrying shipments of drugs and weapons.<\/p>\n The court filings make no mention of Zambada\u2019s kidnapping, and Nunez Ojeda\u2019s attorney did not respond to a question about his client\u2019s alleged role in the affair. A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment.<\/p>\n In a July 26, 2024, news conference, Mexico\u2019s then-president Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador discussed the arrest of Ismael \u201cEl Mayo\u201d Zambada and a son of Joaqu\u00edn \u201cEl Chapo\u201d Guzm\u00e1n by U.S. federal agents.<\/p>\n (Alfredo Estrella \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Facing life in prison with no parole, Zambada is being held while he awaits a July 20 sentencing hearing at the same federal jail in Brooklyn that houses former Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/a><\/p>\n Given the possibility that he could be shipped to the remote \u201csupermax\u201d prison in Colorado where his former partner El Chapo has been held in extreme isolation since his 2019 conviction, some have speculated that Zambada could seek to help himself by spilling secrets about Rocha Moya and others.<\/p>\n Zambada\u2019s lawyer, Frank Perez, has denied any such thing.<\/p>\n \u201cReports circulating on media outlets claiming that Mr. Zambada has entered into a cooperation agreement with the United States government are categorically false,\u201d Perez said in a statement to The Times. \u201cMr. Zambada has not entered into any cooperation agreement, has not pled pursuant to any cooperation arrangement, and is not cooperating with the United States government in any capacity.\u201d <\/p>\n Whether the kidnapping of Zambada was a masterstroke or a blunder for Los Chapitos remains to be seen. The betrayal triggered a civil war within the cartel, and the factions loyal to El Chapo\u2019s sons have been severely weakened over the last year, losing territory across Sinaloa.<\/p>\n![\"Rub\u00e9n](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778457464_477_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Joaqu\u00edn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778457464_726_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Ovidio](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778457465_895_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Ex-president](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778457465_546_.jpeg\")
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