Thread by @alanfeuer

Imagine a Mafia scion like John Gotti Jr. walking into the Secret Service office in DC to complain about how the govt was investigating him and his family. At today's session of the Chapo trial, that's basically what Vicente Zambada Niebla said he did in Mexico in 1997.

Vicente, the son of Mayo Zambada, one of the top leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, said he met w/a man named General Miranda, the chief presidential guard for Ernesto Zedillo, to complain about how Mexican investigators were raiding his mother's businesses in Culiacan.

This was just part of his 2nd day on the stand as a star govt witness. He also said his father paid off the state police in Sinaloa, including the man who ran it, Chui Tonio (sp?), the local Sinaloa cops, the federal police and officials in the PGR or natl atty general's office.

Vicente also talked about several murders he ordered but claimed he never killed anyone personally.) Many took place during Mayo & Chapo's war w/their former allies, the Beltran-Leyva bros.
To find their enemies Vicente said he paid a military general $750k for wiretap equipment.

He also said he imported hundreds of assault rifles and millions of rounds of ammo--from the United States.

The war even touched Vicente's family. He said one of his corrupt Army contacts told him in 2008 or so that the Beltran-Leyvas & their allies were planning to abduct his wife, kill her and send him her head.
So he & his family fled their home in Culiacan for Mazatlan.

The fighting was mostly conducted by professional killers called sicarios. The sicarios who worked for Chapo, Mayo and Vicente had very good sicario names:
There was, for instance, M1 and Chino Anthrax. Then there was El Negro and Fantasma.

Vicente is now facing cross examination so we'll see what the afternoon session brings...

Fascinating testimony by El Vicentillo this afternoon:
At age 32, he said, he wanted to retire from the Sinaloa drug cartel. His means of escape was remarkable: Chapo, he claimed, offered to reach out to "his contacts" in the DEA to see if they would meet with the young man.

While it's not clear if Chapo ever made good on the offer, Vicente did in fact sit down with DEA agents within two years. That encounter led by twists & turns to his arrest, extradition and ultimately the cooperation agreement that brought him to Chapo's trial as a govt witness.