Jailed Mexican drug lord El Chapo's attorney is denying reports that his client's son tricked Ismail Zambada El Mayo, ambushed him, kidnapped the legendary Sinaloa cartel boss and turned him over to waiting U.S. authorities.

The story of the kidnapping, regardless of whether it is true, has already caused a split in the Sinaloa drug cartel, which is the most notorious, most powerful and probably the richest criminal organization in the world, founded by El Chapo and El Mayo.

The US authorities announced that El Mayo and Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of El Chapo, were detained in Texas a week ago. The news came as a shock, as both Mexican and American authorities had been chasing the world's most notorious criminal for half a century and had never been able to track him down. Local media reported in new reports that El Mayo and El Chapo's son were actually detained after they landed in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, near the border city of El Paso by private plane.

The New York Times confirmed the version of Frank Perez, El Mayo's lawyer, that his client was betrayed by the young Guzman, was lured into an ambush and handed over against his will to the American authorities. He reportedly left his hideout in the Durango Mountains to meet with Joaquín Guzmán in Culicán, the unofficial capital of the Sinaloa Cartel. There he was met by six armed men in military uniforms, transferred to a plane, tied his legs to the seat and unloaded in the United States.

Mexican authorities announced that they learned about this version of events from the media and that an investigation into possible kidnappings has been opened. President Manuel López Obrador, however, confirmed that Joaquín Guzmán López was negotiating with Mexican authorities for a "voluntary surrender."

The New York Times adds that American officials learned that El Mayo would be delivered to them just two hours before the plane landed in Santa Teresa.