Chapitos Hitmen Say Mayo Betrayed Them in Alleged Radio Clip from Ovidio's Arrest

"Sol Prendido" and "HEARST" for Borderland Beat

Audio clips of alleged radio transmission by Sinaloa Cartel hitmen claim that Mayo Zambada knew the location of Ovidio Guzman and imply that they suspect Mayo turned in his location to the federal government, leading to Ovidio’s arrest.

The popular cartel news Twitter account La Voz Del Pueblo uploaded a number of alleged audio clips which they claim depict radio transmissions of Sinaloa Cartel hitmen trying to organize their movements on the day that Ovidio was arrested, January 5, 2023. 

Audio Clip of Speaker 1

In the audio, a man who is alleged to be Nini is heard rallying the hitmen and asking for more Chapitos-aligned groups in the area to come attack the military personnel escorting Ovidio.

The audio goes as follows, translated by Sol Prendido:

(Speaker 1, Alleged to be El Nini)

Everyone needs to hurry the fuck up! Hurry the fuck up! Hurry the fuck up! 

I need for everyone to come give me a hand out here! I need every fucking group! Come towards us!

Come in through Tamarindo, come out by La Campana, towards Jesus Maria.

Néstor Isidro García, alias “El Nini”, is alleged to be a Sinaloa Cartel leadership figure with strong ties to los Chapitos. To read more about his criminal history, please see this previous story. 

There have been rumors within the last year that Nini has fallen out of favor with the sons of El Chapo, as some allege that Nini was deposed as the plaza boss of Culiacan and the position was given to another leadership figure, however, it is still likely that Nini heavily participated in the attempts to free Ovidio and retaliate against government figures. 

So, how do we know this is El Nini? We don’t. It is simply what multiple social media users (such as Rosario Zam, Jorge Alvarez, Angel, in addition to La Voz del Pueblo) are alleging online.

El Nini was heard speaking in similar radio clips during the first Culiacanazo, back in 2019. Social media users are presumably comparing those audio clips with these recent ones to make this alleged voice identification - but we recommend that readers compare the voice clips themselves and draw their own conclusions. 

The locations that Speaker 1 refers to align with a path that leads towards the town of Jesus Maria, the location where Ovidio was captured, as depicted on the map below. 

As a side note, the video shows an image of the mouse Jerry, from the cartoon Tom and Jerry, which is meant to signify Ovidio, whose cartel alias is “El Ratón” or the mouse.

Jerry is seen wearing a ball cap with a slice of pizza on it, which is meant to signify Ovidio being one of the leaders of “La Chapiza”, shorthand for Chapitos people. 

Audio Clip of Speaker 2

Another audio clip then begins, during which an unknown speaker alludes to someone turning over Ovidio’s location to the military.

The audio goes as follows, translated by Sol Prendido:

(Speaker 2)

No one knew Los Chapitos location - only the Sombrero’s people [Mayo’s people] knew. 

What a coincidence that the helicopter showed up firing away, attacking everyone. 

We’re all getting ready because a war is about to start against the Sombrero people.

How can we evaluate the credibility of this claim that Mayo Zambada turned in his location? Do we think that los Chapitos trusted Mayo enough to let him know where Ovidio was staying? 

Whether people believe this claim will in many ways reflect what they personally believe about the nature of the current relationship between Mayo Zambada and the sons of El Chapo. 

The original, 2019 Culiacanazo was reportedly a major breaking point in the already-tense relationship between the two. At the time, Borderland Beat covered allegations which claimed that Culicanazo exacerbated the existing friction between Mayo and los Chapitos.

The article alleged that on that day in 2019, Mayo Zambada was asked to send hitmen to help free Ovidio; however, he refused. 

Others have claimed that Mayo-aligned hitmen did participate in Chapitos effort to get him released. 

It's ultimately impossible to find a definitive answer as to what Mayo, the man himself, did on that day. All we can really observe is what lieutenants under Mayo chose to do, and we’re left guessing as to whether it was by their own initiative, reflecting their own feelings about los Chapitos or if they were following orders from the top. 

Here’s what we can know, however: the relationship between Chapitos and Mayo has deteriorated to the point of outright war in at least 4 different states (Sonora, Baja California, Nuevo Leon, and in Sinaloa - most often seen in areas to the north of Culiacan). 

The strongest, most undeniable example of the divide within the Sinaloa Cartel came just under a month ago, when the Chapitos-aligned group Commando X attempted to assassinate Mayo-lieutenant El Ruso, leading to a battle which left at least 10 dead and 49 vehicles seized. For more details, see this previous story. 

Because this happened less than 30 days before Ovidio was arrested, it seems likely that los Chapitos would not have trusted Mayo enough to let him know Ovidio’s location, therefore making this betrayal impossible. 

However, there will always be those that claim there is some sort of separation between the feelings of the rank-and-file hitmen and the capos themselves - that these upper-echelon men have some kind of bond and fealty to one another, opening up the possibility that Mayo could have been entrusted with Ovidio’s location. 

What few are willing to to admit is this: 

We do not know enough about these high-level capos and the logistics of how they hide their locations to actually figure this out.

And we do not have enough real evidence to make any kind of determination as to if this betrayal happened.

Sources: Linked within text