MEXICO CITY, July 22 — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday again questioned the U.S. role in the 2024 arrest of drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who was taken from Mexico by plane and sentenced Monday to life in prison in New York.
The U.S. government has said it did not take part in an operation to arrest Zambada, a co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, on Mexican territory.
“Why are they showing a plane — at a fair — as if it were part of their operation, when the official version is that they did not participate? It is a contradiction,” Sheinbaum said at her daily press conference, referring to the aircraft used to transport Zambada into the United States in July 2024.
She said Washington had not provided enough information to clarify the arrest, which Mexico says helped trigger a wave of violence in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.
Sheinbaum said Mexico cooperates with the United States to stop drugs from reaching U.S. territory, while asking Washington to prevent weapons from entering Mexico.
Zambada has said he was kidnapped by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and taken to the United States against his will, a version that differs from that of U.S. authorities.
Sheinbaum also said she had asked the Mexican Attorney General’s Office to review whether Mexico could claim part of the assets the United States is seeking to seize from Zambada.
A constitutional reform aimed at strengthening Mexico’s sovereignty and protecting the country from foreign interference took effect in 2025 after being proposed by Sheinbaum in February of that year. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
