Former cartel member testifies against ‘El Chapo’ at U.S. trial
NEW YORK — An admitted former Mexican cartel member first met the notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman when he helped him evade a manhunt, he said in court testimony Wednesday.
Taking the witness stand for the government at Guzman’s U.S. trial, Jesus Zambada identified Guzman in the courtroom and told jurors he “was one of the most powerful drug-traffickers in Mexico,” detailing how the Sianola cartel made massive profits by smuggling ton-upon-ton of cocaine into the United States.
Zambada — a 57-year-old trained accountant who was arrested in 2008 and is still in U.S. custody — was the first of several cooperators expected to give jurors an inside look at a cartel with a legendary lust for drugs, cash and violence.
Appearing in a blue jail uniform and wearing tinted glasses, Zambada testified when special military forces were trying to hunt down Guzman in 2001 after a prison break, he was tasked with trying to find a spot where the cartel could land a helicopter for its boss.
“We were rescuing him ... because the military was about to recapture him,” the witness said through a Spanish interpreter.
Zambada said for most of the 2000s, his brother, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, and Guzman were considered the top leaders of the Sianola cartel as it imported large shipments of Colombian cocaine by land, sea and air to Mexico before using various means to get it to the U.S. market. A popular smuggling method involved stashing the drugs in containers hidden inside gas tanker trucks filled with fuel, he said.
As the cocaine was moved north, its profit potential skyrocketed, he said. A kilo purchased in Colombia for $3,000 would fetch $20,000 in Los Angeles, $25,000 in Chicago and $35,000 in New York City, he said.
Zambada testified he ran a cartel warehouse in Mexico City that processed 80 to 100 tons of cocaine a year, a volume that brought in “billions” in revenue. Through bribes, he claimed, “I controlled the airport in Mexico City. ... Controlled the authority.”