Two of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's sons were reportedly injured last weekend in an attack in Mexico blamed on a drug cartel rival of their father, who is now incarcerated in the U.S.
Mexican journalist Ciro Gomez Leyva reported the attack after he said he received a letter from the sons, who have gone unnamed, the Daily Mail reported. Other local reporters also received the letter suggesting their father's Sinaloa drug cartel was coming unhinged without him
Leyva said the attack happened last Saturday after the sons claimed Sinaloa drug cartel figure Damaso Lopez betrayed them.
The sons said they arrived with current Sinaloa cartel boss Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada for a meeting with Lopez when gunmen open fired on them.
According to The Associated Press, the sons were able to escape with Zambada but their bodyguards were killed.
Jose Refugio, Joaquin Guzman's attorney, confirmed the authenticity of the letter sent to the local Mexican media, noted The AP.
"I was aware of that, I know about that letter and I know they wrote that letter," Refugio told Radio Formula, per The AP. "But it was not delivered through me."
Mexican authorities haven't commented on the alleged attack or confirmed the letter.
Guzman is being held in New York City to face drug charges after he was extradited from Mexico, noted the New York Daily News. Mexican authorities turned over the longtime kingpin of the Sinaloa drug cartel to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in January.
Guzman had been trying for more than a year to avoid extradition to the United States, where he is charged in connection with 12 murder conspiracies, drug trafficking, and money laundering. He faces indictments in six jurisdictions.
Guzman had escaped twice from Mexican prisons, the latest in July, 2015 through a tunnel burrowed under the facility, noted CNN, and causing a major embarrassment for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and the country's law enforcement.
The Sinaloa drug cartel was Mexico's most powerful and violent under Guzman's leadership, said CNN.
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