Arrest of cartel leader ‘El Mayo’ in US leads to treason investigation in Mexico

The arrest of notorious drug cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in the US has sparked a treason investigation in Mexico, where President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was apparently angry about the incident.

Zambada, 76, was arrested in late July in El Paso, Texas, 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 arranged a meeting, kidnapped him, and forced him onto the plane. He suggested that Guzmán López planned to turn himself in to U.S. authorities and delivered Zambada in the hope of favorable treatment.

This footage, provided by the U.S. State Department, shows Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada (left) and Joaquín Guzmán López after being arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas.

The U.S. Justice Department has not claimed any role in the operation, although it has offered a $15 million reward for Zambada’s capture. Federal authorities said they had little 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 north in 1990.

President López Obrador has repeatedly complained about U.S. intervention against drug cartels south of the border, and his government has promised to investigate the circumstances surrounding Zambada’s arrest.

“In the United States there are groups that do not want to understand that things have changed and who want to continue to intervene, to undermine and to try to dominate,” he said Monday.

Zambada was a longtime partner of “El Chapo” in the Sinaloa Cartel operation. While Guzmán was known for his glitz and glamour, Zambada was known as the man with the tricks of the trade who ran the operation.

After Guzmán was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2019, Zambada took on a larger role in the cartel and began feuding with some of his old buddy’s children. However, he maintained a good relationship with Guzmán López — until late July.

With news services