EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The Government of Mexico says it did not participate in the arrest or surrender of two top Sinaloa cartel leaders now in custody in the United States.
“Did we participate? No, the Government of Mexico did not take part in this detention or surrender. That is not the case. But we will continue to collaborate as we have done so far,” Mexican Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said Friday in a news conference broadcast on YouTube.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday confirmed the arrest in El Paso of Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Garland and Drug Enforcement Administrator Anne Milgram characterized the arrests as a major blow against a transnational criminal organization flooding American communities with the deadly drug fentanyl.
This combo of images provided by the U.S. Department of State shows Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, left, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. They were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday, July 25, 2024. (U.S. Department of State via AP)
Guzman Lopez was flown out of El Paso early Friday to face prosecution in Chicago. Zambada was scheduled to have his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Anne T. Berton in El Paso on Friday morning, according to court records. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on July 31 on room 412 of the federal courthouse in El Paso.
Rodriguez showed images of Zambada and Guzman Lopez in U.S. custody.
The secretary said the U.S. Embassy in Mexico notified her office of the apprehensions at 3:30 p.m. Mexico City time on Thursday. She said the embassy later told her the identities of the suspects had been confirmed through fingerprints and other biometric information.
“Part of the investigation is whether this was (an arrest) or a surrender, a pre-arranged surrender,” she said.
Rodriguez also showed a flight plan of a Cessna 205 aircraft that took off from Hermosillo International Airport in Sonora, Mexico, at 8:05 a.m. Thursday heading toward Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
The plan lists an American pilot, Larry Curtis Parker, as the sole occupant. The Cessna was supposed to land in Santa Teresa at 10:19 a.m.
Efforts to contact Parker by Border Report and KTSM were unsuccessful. KTSM could not verify arrivals to the Doña Ana County Jetport on Thursday afternoon. On the runway, KTSM crews spotted a Beech King Air B200GT which comfortably transports seven passengers as opposed to a Cessna 205, which seats five passengers and a pilot. Witnesses told KTSM that authorities had the Beech King Air surrounded on the runway on Thursday afternoon.
Rodriguez said the pilot is not listed as a U.S. embassy employee or agent, but merely as a visiting pilot flying back to the U.S.
“It is a fact that one left from here, and over there three arrived. We will see what the precise information is in this case,” she said. “The investigation is ongoing in Mexico and in the United States.”
What happens to the Sinaloa cartel now?
Typically, when a drug lord is arrested or killed in Mexico, a bloody scramble to replace him takes place. Rodriguez said she would not speculate on how the arrests would impact the Sinaloa cartel. “That is speculation. […] We leave the speculation up to you,” she told Mexican news media members who asked the question.
Rodriguez and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador emphasized that Mexico and the U.S. collaborate well on public safety and other common issues. “I would like to emphasize we have good collaboration. If there is a detention (of a foreign national), we notify their embassy,” Rodriguez said.
U.S. authorities previously identified four of the sons of “El Chapo” Guzman as heading one faction of the Sinaloa cartel, with Zambada leading the other. In addition to Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Ovidio Guzman Lopez is also jailed in the U.S. after extradition.
Federal prison records show Ovidio Guzman was released on July 23, but Rodriguez in Mexico said she believes he is still in U.S. custody, but his jail arrangements may have been modified.
Lopez Obrador was asked to explain the difference in the two airplanes allegedly involved in the arrest of “El Mayo” and the other defendant. The president said that matter is under investigation. “They could have changed (airplanes) along the way. We will know that later. Also, one left Hermosillo and three landed (in the U.S.) Did they land and (added passengers)? All of that is under investigation, we’re seeing what the cameras show.”
Lopez Obrador said he would wait to hear from U.S. authorities about the nuances of the arrest and what the airplane situation was. He said he didn’t even know, officially, which U.S. agency placed Zambada and Guzman Lopez under custody.
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