Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has requested additional information from U.S. President Joe Biden regarding the arrest of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was captured in El Paso, Texas, in late July. S
heinbaum made the request during a meeting with Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, according to a report by broadcaster N+.
"I proposed this, which is an issue that has been difficult in our relations, asking him for all possible information so that we can also evaluate it," Sheinbaum told the outlet, referring to her meeting with the outgoing U.S. president on Monday.
Sheinbaum has publicly questioned the transparency of the operation before. In October, shortly after taking office, she criticized the means by which Zambada was detained, arguing that "the end does not justify the means." She also noted inconsistencies in communication, as U.S. officials claimed to have informed Mexico's Attorney General's Office about the operation, while Mexican authorities contend that details remain unclear.
Since Zambada's capture in July, both governments have gone back and forth over conflicting narratives surrounding the incident.
Back in September, then Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador suggested that the U.S. was jointly responsible for escalating violence in Sinaloa for playing a role in the arretst of Zambada without his administration's knowledge. "It was totally illegal, and agents from the Department of Justice were waiting for Mr. Mayo," AMLO said, adding: "If we are now facing instability and clashes in Sinaloa, it is because they made that decision."
Then, in late October, Mexico's Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar exchanged statements in regards to the former's claims that Mexico is still waiting on information that led to Zambada's arrest, such as the identity of the pilot who flew him from Mexico and its arrival in the U.S.
Zambada, a prominent figure in Mexico's criminal landscape, led the Sinaloa Cartel for decades, sharing power with his former associate, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Guzmán was extradited to the United States in 2017, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Zambada's capture, alongside Guzmán's son Joaquín Guzmán López, marked a significant victory for U.S. authorities.
Zambada's arrest followed years of pursuit by U.S. authorities, who in 2021 increased the reward for information leading to his capture to $15 million.
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