WASHINGTON — Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, cofounder of the Sinaloa drug cartel, claims he was kidnapped and is sitting in a U.S. federal prison cell in Texas because he trusted Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of the "Los Chapitos," the sons of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, his cartel cofounder.
Zambada made the claim in a Saturday statement from U.S. federal detention sent to VOA and other news organizations by his lawyer, Frank Perez.
Zambada has pleaded not guilty to seven federal charges in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.