Joaquín Guzmán López apparently grew tired of living with a target on his back as a member of Los Chapitos – or Little Chapos – the clan of siblings who took control of one-half of the Sinaloa Cartel drug cartel empire after their father Joaquín ‘ El Chapo‘ Guzmán was arrested and later extradited to the United States.
On Thursday, El Chapo found a one-way ticket out of the extravagant, yet elicit, lifestyle when he hopped on a small jet with fugitive cartel co-founder Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and set him up to be arrested in El Paso, Texas, DailyMail.com has learned.
DailyMail.com confirmed through a former Departmet of Justi that El Mayo joined Guzmán López on a flight to the Mexico City area to look for potential properties that he was going to purchase.
However, the aircraft changed its flight path and headed north into U.S. airspace before landing in El Paso, where agents were awaiting.
Zambada appeared in federal court in El Paso Friday morning and has entered a plea of not guilty to slew of drug trafficking charges, court records show.
Joaquín Guzmán Lopez, one of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s sons, self-surrendered to United States authorities on Thursday and in the process set up Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, by flying him into El Paso, Texas after El Mayo thought he was going to fly to the Mexico City area to look for property
Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada founded the Sinaloa Cartel along with Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán. He had never been arrested by Mexico authorities. He was arrested in El Paso, Texas on Thursday and is facing a litany of indictments for crimes relating to drug trafficking and organized crime in the U.S.
The pair were arrested in El Paso, Texas , after getting off a private plane that was supposed to take El Mayo to the Mexico City area to see properties
Joaquín Guzmán López, alongside his brother Ovidio Guzmán López, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York in 2018 for allegedly conspiring to distribute cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine into the United States.
Retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent and Chief of Operation, Ray Donovan, who helped take down El Chapo, told DailyMail.com on Friday that it was a a smart move by Joaquín Guzmán López to turn himself in.
‘It means that it was to it was a highly intelligent move on his part. Here he is indicted by the US government. There’s a lot of violence in Mexico. Potentially, you know, change of administration with (President-elect Claudia) Sheinbaum in Mexico. Potentially, a change of administration in the United States,’ Donovan said. ‘[There is] a lot of rhetoric going on,’ he added. ‘It’s not a bad move if you’re him.’
‘You want you want a peaceful life, and you don’t want to be a part of this anymore? Then, you know, it’s actually a highly intelligent move on his part.’
Donovan senses that the fear of being killed at any given moment led Joaquín Guzmán López to betray Zambada, following years on internal strife.
‘It’s too much pressure, it’s too much burden, and they fear death all the time,’ he said. ‘They fear being killed. Listen, even the top people fear being killed, as powerful as they are.’
Joaquín Guzmán López is escorted by U.S. federal agents following his self-surrender
Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán was captured in Mexico in 2016 and extradited in 2017 (seen here). He was convicted on multiple drug trafficking charges by a New York federal court in 2019 and is serving a life sentence at ADX Florence, a super maximum security prison in Colorado
Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada founded the Sinaloa Cartel along with Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán and had never been arrested
Joaquín’s brother Ovidio Guzmán López was also arrested in Mexico in September 2023 and extradited to the U.S. to face his own long list of charges
Donovan was behind an operation to capture El Mayo in 2014 following El Chapo’s Hollywood-like prison escape, but El Mayo managed to outsmart them.
‘We knew what was going on with him. We knew where he was and Mayo was smart,’ Donovan recalled. ‘He had intelligence that there was an operation and he ran to the mountains. While Chapo had intelligence too, he stayed in Culiacán. So, I always use that as somewhat of an indicator of how intelligent Mayo was. Mayo was sharp and he didn’t stay around. He wasn’t bold. The older he got, the more business-like he became.’
It’s unlikely that Joaquín Guzmán López’s half-brothers, Iván Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Guzmán Salazar, will follow his steps and voluntarily surrender to U.S. authorities.
Of the four siblings, Donovan described Joaquín Guzmán López as being the ‘least culpable’ because he was just looking up to his brothers and got caught up in the family business.
‘Listen, Joaquin, did he deal with drugs? Yes,’ Donovan said. ‘But was he really the main (one)? No, he was never the main guy. He was more like a follower than a leader. Ovidio was the big producer of Fentanyl. Iván ran the cartel. (Jesús) had the contacts in Colombia.
‘He (Joaquín Guzmán López) had to weight the pros and cons and I think that he made a smart decision. He wants a different life. This is it.’
Iván Guzmán Salazar (pictured), is one of El Chapo’s sons now leading one-half of the Sinaloa Cartel. The DEA is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction
The Drug Enforcement Administration is offering a $10 million reward for information that leads to the arrest and/or conviction of Jesús Guzmán Salazar
Donovan explained that the fact that Joaquín Guzmán López surrendered means that he had the intent of moving on from the cartel. Ovidio Guzmán López was apprehended in Mexico in September 2023 and is facing drug trafficking and money laundering charges in Chicago.
‘It is showing good faith to the government, right?’ he said. ‘it’s not a national self-surrender, it’s an international self-surrender, right? So good faith to the U.S., that’s one thing. Second thing is Mayo Zambada is apprehended. That is a big, big benefit. To me, I see it as a well-played move.’
Donovan sees Iván Guzmán Salazar joining forces with Zambada son, Ismael ‘El Mayito Flaco’ Zambada Sicairos, who is seen as not being bloodthirsty.
‘He’s not the type that’s gonna be bold and willing to battle and fight for control,’ Donovan said. ‘So my belief is that Iván Guzman is going to consolidate power over cartel.’
