The Mexican prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the alleged kidnapping reported by Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada

The Mexican prosecutor’s office will investigate the kidnapping reported by Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. / Photo courtesy

The Mexican prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into a suspected kidnapping reported by Sinaloa drug cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. He accused drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s son, of handing him over to U.S. authorities against his will on July 25.

Possible crimes being investigated include:

• Operating illegal flights.
• Illegal use of aerial facilities.
• Violations of immigration and customs regulations.
• Kidnapping.
• Treason under Article 123 of the Mexican Criminal Code.

The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that it had initiated proceedings at the Santa Teresa airport in New Mexico and had asked Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya for information about the case.

Likewise, the aforementioned state prosecutor’s office was “urgently” asked to hand over the investigation into the “murder case” of former Culiacán mayor Héctor Quin Ojeda to federal authorities. That same day, he was found dead after being shot several times by two robbers at a gas station.

This is after Zambada published a letter in which he claimed that the kidnapping began when he was tricked into attending a meeting at a ranch on the outskirts of Culiacán where he was supposedly going to resolve differences between Rocha Moya and Cuen.

After being personally received by the sons of “El Chapo”, Zambada explained that they made him enter a “dark room” where he was immediately “ambushed” by a group of men who, after beating him, put a hood over his head and handcuffed them. He was eventually handed over to the US authorities in El Paso (Texas), accompanied by Joaquín Guzmán.

The governor of Sinaloa completely denied the “El Mayo” claims during a public event accompanied by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. “I had no reason, no excuse, to participate in meetings with organized criminals,” he said.