Mexico Drug lord "El Mayo" flown to the USA against his will

The Mexican drug boss Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was captured in the USA at the end of July, was flown into the country against his will. This was stated by the US ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, at a press conference, as reported by the newspaper "El Universal" and other media. However, Joaquín Guzmán López - a son of the drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, who is imprisoned in the USA - who was on the same plane, had handed himself in to the authorities there, according to Salazar.

It was an operation by the drug cartels, Salazar continued, without explaining further. The US government had nothing to do with it. Rather, they were surprised by the operation. "What we knew was that Joaquín Guzmán would arrive and surrender, he surrendered and with him came the passenger (Zambada)", Salazar was quoted as saying.

After the arrest of the two, US media had already reported, citing security officials, that Zambada had been deceived and lured into a trap.

Zambada was one of the most influential drug lords in the Sinaloa drug cartel and was wanted in the USA for conspiracy to manufacture cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl, murder and money laundering, among other things. The deadly drug fentanyl has triggered a devastating health crisis in the USA.

The 76-year-old "El Mayo" is an ex-companion of "El Chapo", who is serving a life sentence in the USA. Four of his sons - including Guzmán López, who has now been arrested - acted as leaders of another faction of the Sinaloa cartel.

In addition to numerous smaller gangs, there are two large drug cartels in Mexico, which originate from the states of Sinaloa and Jalisco. They engage in violent conflicts over the control of drug trafficking and the smuggling of migrants who want to enter the USA.

SDA