Mexican attorney claims El Chapo's son and El Mayo 'voluntarily surrendered' to American authorities

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The wild arrest of two top drug cartel operatives, and the story of how the arrest happened, with a mystery plane ride from Mexico to Texas landing one of El Chapo's sons in a Chicago lock-up, continues to grow more intriguing by the day.

El Chapo's son, 38-year-old Joaquín Guzman Lopez, surrendered to U.S. authorities after landing in a prop plane in El Paso, Texas, last Thursday.

Also on the plane was 76-year-old Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, Sinaloa cartel co-founder and the man left to oversee the organization after El Chapo was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

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The question of how El Chapo's son got his father's major domo -- a ruthless cartel boss twice his age -- onto an unsecured airplane and over the border into the United States has taken many twists in the days that followed the Texas capture.

Zambada's attorney had claimed last weekend that his client was tricked into flying into the country, saying he was "forcibly kidnapped" by Guzman Lopez. But on Wednesday, a Mexican attorney who says he's long-represented El Chapo, claims it was a sweet surrender by both the son and the top aide, a negotiated turn-in after four years of talks with the U.S. government.

At Chicago's federal court on Tuesday, Guzman Lopez's attorney Jeffrey Lichtman made it clear: they had no plea deal in place with federal prosecutors.

"This is the truth: There is no agreement between Joaquin Guzman and the government here," Lichtman said.

Lichtman, an American lawyer who has also represented El Chapo, did not explain how Guzman and Zambada ended up on the prop plane, flown from Mexico to El Paso, Texas, and into the waiting handcuffs of U.S. authorities.

On Wednesday, José Luis González Meza, a long-time well-known Mexican attorney who says he has represented El Chapo and family members himself, released a statement he says was penned by the families of both men.

The translated statement reads, "Approximately four years ago, talks began with the U.S. authorities about the possibility of voluntary surrendering, talks that culminated in the surrender of Joaquín Guzmán López and Ismael Mario Zambada García in recent days when they surrendered voluntarily and without any pressure from any Mexican or American authority."

In response to the ABC7 I-Team's questions, Lichtman said González Meza is an "imposter" and that the statement makes no sense.

"He's not a lawyer for the family, he's an imposter," Lichtman told the I-Team late on Wednesday. "His comments made no sense as they are factually incorrect."

READ MORE: A son of El Chapo helped capture Sinaloa cartel leaders, officials say

The statement, which Gonzalez Meza states is on behalf of the families of both Guzman Lopez and Zambada, speaks of the families having a 50-year relationship that has been, "impeccable of respect and harmony to the extent that there are compadres and marriages" among both families.

Lichtman told the I-Team he confirmed the statement was inauthentic with the Guzman's "actual family attorney," but he could not identify the attorney due to safety reasons. He said the problem with "imposter" attorneys has been ongoing.

"For years, since I've been representing the father, fake attorneys have popped up in Mexico claiming they represent him or the boys," Lichtman wrote. "I'm the only one who has ever had contact with the government for them. And I confirmed that the boys did not agree to any such statement."

ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer said if there were any talks between Guzman and American authorities preceding both cartel leaders landing in Texas last week, it will come out in court.

"If there had already been a deal in the works, we'd likely know it now," Soffer said. "We would likely have seen a plea of guilty and a plea agreement. So it's not now, but if it happens, we'll know sooner rather than later."