Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has pointed fingers at the United States for the recent surge in violence in the state of Sinaloa. The region has witnessed a spate of killings, with bodies found on public streets and highways, leaving dozens dead in the past two weeks.
During a press conference, López Obrador suggested that the US played a role in escalating tensions between factions of the Sinaloa drug cartel. This accusation comes after the arrest of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, son of notorious drug lord “El Chapo” Guzmán, in the US.
Zambada claimed that he was forcibly taken into custody by Guzmán López and handed over to US authorities. He described being ambushed, kidnapped, and transported to the US on a private plane. The circumstances surrounding Guzmán López's surrender remain unclear.
President López Obrador went on to allege that the US Department of Justice had secret agreements with an organized criminal group, characterizing the operation as a kidnapping. However, US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar has refuted these claims, stating that the operation leading to Zambada's arrest was orchestrated between the cartels themselves.
The situation has raised tensions between Mexico and the US, with conflicting narratives emerging regarding the events that transpired. The Mexican government's accusations have added a new layer of complexity to the already intricate relationship between the two neighboring countries.
