“As You Return My Sons, I’ll Return Yours”: The Strong Threat El Chapo Guzmán Made to El Mencho Revealed

• El Chapo’s Children Were Kidnapped in Puerto Vallarta
• Direct threat between cartel leaders
• Mediation prevented open war

The kidnapping of the sons of Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán in 2016 not only shook the upper ranks of Mexican drug trafficking, but also exposed internal fractures, betrayals, and high-level negotiations that prevented an immediate war between the country’s two most powerful cartels.

What happened in Puerto Vallarta marked a turning point in the reconfiguration of organized crime.

The kidnapping of Los Chapitos that set off alarms in Puerto Vallarta

In August 2016, Jesús Alfredo and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, known as Los Chapitos, were abducted during a celebration at the La Leche restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.

An armed group stormed the venue and took six members of the group, including the sons of the leader of the Cártel de Sinaloa.

The operation was attributed to an alliance of interests involving Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), as well as internal figures within the Sinaloa Cartel itself, including Dámaso López Núñez, known as “El Licenciado,” and his son Dámaso López Serrano, “El Mini Lic.”

According to statements later revealed by El Mini Lic, the objective of the abduction was not financial.

“They were taken to be killed. That was the order. It wasn’t for money, it wasn’t to scare them — it was to kill them,” he said in an interview with a national magazine.

Internal betrayal and rupture within the Sinaloa Cartel

The prior arrest of El Chapo had left latent tensions within the organization.

Before his extradition, Guzmán Loera allegedly sent a letter instructing Dámaso López Núñez to protect his sons and share control of resources.

However, the relationship quickly deteriorated.

A letter attributed to Los Chapitos claims that Dámaso López attempted to ambush them in February 2017 during a planned meeting.

The attempt reportedly led to armed clashes and an escape on foot through the mountains.

Meanwhile, the CJNG had warned that it would not allow incursions into its territory in Jalisco.

That warning was ignored.

Despite having at least 16 bodyguards, the Los Chapitos group was overpowered by a rival command of around 50 men, who managed to subdue them and remove them from the restaurant.

The threat that tipped the balance in negotiations

The release of El Chapo’s sons was neither immediate nor simple. From prison, Guzmán Loera allegedly activated contacts and pressure to force a resolution.

According to El Mini Lic’s account, the capo managed to have “El Menchito” — son of El Mencho, who was imprisoned at the time — taken into custody as leverage.

The threat of El Chapo to El Mencho was direct and forceful:

“As you return my sons, I’ll return yours.”

This warning elevated negotiations to a critical point, where the lives of the main heirs of both organizations became bargaining chips.

Ultimately, Los Chapitos were released, preventing an immediate escalation.

Key mediation and reconfiguration of criminal power

The intervention of Ismael El Mayo Zambada proved decisive in containing the conflict.

His role as mediator helped prevent the kidnapping from turning into open war between the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG — a scenario many sources considered potentially devastating.

The episode exposed the internal fragility of the Sinaloa Cartel following the final capture of its founder and accelerated the consolidation of Los Chapitos as an autonomous faction within the organization.

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Beyond its outcome, the August 2016 kidnapping planted deep mistrust among former allies and redefined alliances on the map of Mexican drug trafficking, in a context where every move could trigger large-scale conflict.

SOURCE: Infobae