The capture of notorious drug cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in the U.S. has led to a treason investigation in Mexico, where President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was apparently angered by the incident.
Zambada, 76, was arrested in El Paso, Texas, in late July when a small plane arrived carrying him and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
According to Zambada, Guzmán López set up a meeting, then kidnapped him and forced him onto the plane. He implied Guzmán López was planning to turn himself in to American authorities and delivered Zambada in hopes of favorable treatment.
The U.S. Justice Department has not claimed any role in the operation, though it had offered a $15 million reward for Zambada’s capture. The feds said they had almost no warning before the plane landed.
Under Mexican law, treason includes kidnapping someone and shipping them to another country. The clause was added after a Mexican doctor accused of torturing a U.S. federal agent was kidnapped and shipped northward in 1990.
President López Obrador has consistently complained about U.S. intervention against drug cartels south of the border, and his government promised to probe the circumstances of Zambada’s capture.
“In the United States, there are some groups that don’t want to understand that things have changed, and who want to continue intervening, undermining, trying to dominate,” he said Monday.
Zambada was a longtime partner of “El Chapo” in the operation of the Sinaloa Cartel. While Guzmán was known for glitz and glamor, Zambada was known as the nuts-and-bolts guy running the operation.
After Guzmán was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison, Zambada took on a larger role in the cartel and began feuding with some of his old pal’s children. However, he maintained a good relationship with Guzmán López — until late July.
With News Wire Services
