Two sons of ‘El Chapo’ made agreement before one flew to the US and was arrested, Mexican official says

By Holmes Lybrand, Melissa Alonso and Norma Galeana, CNN

(CNN) — Two sons of the notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán – one in prison in the US, the other free in Mexico – carved out an agreement together before one took a consequential flight last month from Mexico to El Paso, Texas, according to a Mexican security official.

Mexico Secretary of Security Rosa Icela Rodriguez told reporters Tuesday that Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the so-called “Chapitos,” reached an agreement with his brother Ovidio Guzmán López, who was extradited to the US in 2023 and is awaiting trial on drug and money laundering charges.

“In the United States, there was an agreement between the individuals who were, shall we say, in custody, with those who are free,” Rodriguez told reporters. “And there was a deal between them for the respective surrender. So that they would go to the United States to surrender.”

Rodriguez was then asked if she was referring to an agreement reached between the Guzmán López brothers Ovidio and Joaquín.

“That is correct,” she replied.

However, an attorney for Ovidio Guzmán López told CNN that Rodriguez’s claim was “a complete and utter fabrication.”

“Ovidio has had no contact with his brother since he’s been in custody in America for the past year, and previously since he was imprisoned in Mexico,” defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said.

The Mexican official’s comments raise further questions about last month’s stunning arrest of Joaquín Guzmán López and the Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada after they flew from Mexico to Texas.

They face several charges for allegedly leading the criminal operations of what is considered to be one of the world’s most powerful and deadly drug trafficking operations.

An attorney for Zambada said he “neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the US government” and described the flight to the US as a violent kidnapping.

Guzmán López has pleaded not guilty to narcotics, money laundering and firearms charges, and Lichtman has said he made no deal with US officials. Lichtman also noted he has not faced an allegation of kidnapping. “When the government accuses him, then I’ll take notice,” he said.

It remains unclear whether Joaquin Guzmán López fully fleshed out a deal with federal prosecutors before his arrest. Still, one official previously told CNN that he had been in touch with Homeland Security Investigation agents for several months over the plan to turn himself and Zambada in.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice declined to comment Wednesday.

El Mayo headed to Brooklyn for trial

Zambada has been held in an undisclosed location in Texas but will soon be moved to New York, where his case will be handed to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn in the same courthouse where El Chapo was tried and convicted in 2019.

In the coming weeks and possibly days, Zambada will be transferred to New York from Texas, one official told CNN, where an initial hearing would likely take place.

The 76-year-old is being held without bond after pleading not guilty July 26 to seven federal criminal counts, including continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering.

Indictments have been brought against Zambada in New York, California, Texas, Illinois and Washington, DC, and several of those districts wanted to prosecute, sources told CNN.

Several US attorneys wanted first crack at Zambada but many didn’t have the proper security infrastructure necessary for such a high-profile case, a federal official told CNN. The decision came down to three districts: one in California, one in Florida and one in New York.

New York’s Eastern District won out, with its proven track record of successfully convicting El Chapo and the security built specifically for his case.

Experts have warned the capture of the alleged cartel bosses won’t necessarily curb drug flow to the United States or violence in Mexico – and could exacerbate it. But information that could be gleaned by the US from these leaders, especially Zambada, could be worth the upheaval it causes among Mexican cartels, some experts have said.

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CNN’s Eric Levenson and Polo Sandoval contributed to this report.