Mexico has made a new arrest in the investigation into how Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was allegedly kidnapped and flown across the border into U.S. custody, with President Claudia Sheinbaum saying that the case remains open more than two years later.
Federal authorities arrested Fausto Corrales Rodríguez in Mexico City, identifying him as a potentially important witness to the events of July 25, 2024, when Zambada was taken from Sinaloa and flown aboard a private aircraft to the United States.
"The investigations continue. This case has not been closed," Sheinbaum said during her morning press conference Thursday, describing the arrest as "relevant."
The Mexican Attorney General's Office, or FGR, said Corrales attended the meeting at which Zambada was allegedly kidnapped and witnessed what happened.
His arrest could give Mexican investigators another opportunity to reconstruct one of the most controversial episodes in the recent history of the Sinaloa Cartel and answer a question that has strained relations between Mexican and U.S. authorities: exactly how did one of Mexico's most powerful drug traffickers end up on American soil?
Zambada has maintained that he did not surrender voluntarily.
According to his account, he went to a meeting in Sinaloa believing he would meet with local political figures, including Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda, a former rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa and former mayor of Culiacán.
Instead, Zambada said he was ambushed, restrained, and forced onto an aircraft before being flown to the United States.
Corrales was reportedly accompanying Cuén on the day of the meeting, making his account potentially significant to investigators trying to establish what happened before Zambada's arrival in the United States.
But Corrales' arrest is also connected to another mystery from that day: Cuén's death.
Mexican federal prosecutors accuse Corrales of concealment and making false statements in connection with the killing of Cuén, according to reports citing the FGR. Investigators have alleged that information initially provided about Cuén's death did not match evidence later uncovered in the case.
Sheinbaum said Thursday that federal prosecutors should provide further details about what Corrales' detention could mean for the investigation.
The arrest comes as the Mexican government has become increasingly vocal in questioning the original U.S. account of Zambada's capture.
In July, Sheinbaum said it appeared "obvious" that U.S. authorities had participated in the operation that brought Zambada across the border, pointing to what she described as contradictions between Washington's earlier statements and subsequent information about the case.
She also suggested that former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar had not been truthful with Mexican authorities about American involvement.
The controversy intensified after the FBI publicly displayed the aircraft associated with Zambada's transfer to the United States, something Sheinbaum cited while questioning previous claims that American agents had not participated in the operation.
Zambada's arrival in the United States in July 2024 immediately altered the balance of power inside the Sinaloa Cartel.
He arrived alongside Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of imprisoned cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Zambada's account of being kidnapped fueled an internal rupture that contributed to a violent struggle between factions associated with the Zambada family and the Guzmán sons.
