Mexican Government Starts Treason Investigation Over U.S. Arrest of Top Sinaloa Boss

Mexican federal prosecutors announced that they had begun a treason investigation against various individuals who played a role in the controversial U.S. arrest of top Sinaloa Cartel Boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. According to the cartel boss, the arrest came after individuals with the Chapitos faction of the cartel kidnapped him and turned him over to U.S. authorities at an airport near El Paso.

In a prepared statement, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office announced an investigation into the charges related to treason against the nation, illegal flights, illegal use of flight facilities, kidnapping, and immigration violations.

#FGRInforma | FGR abrió carpeta de investigación sobre los hechos que involucran a Ismael “N”, y Joaquín “N”, el 26 de julio, por posibles delitos de vuelo ilícito; uso ilícito de instalaciones aéreas; violación a la legislación migratoria y aduanera; secuestro; traición a la… pic.twitter.com/Q6a16HzBm6

— FGR México (@FGRMexico) August 12, 2024

The investigation comes after several differing versions emerged following the surprise arrest. As Breitbart Texas initially reported, on July 25, a plane landed in a private airport in New Mexico with Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of El Mayo’s longtime associate El Chapo. The arrest caused much discontent in Mexico, where Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the following day that his government had not played any role in the incident. The president demanded a full investigation to learn if the U.S. government had violated his country’s sovereignty during the arrest.

A bombshell report by Mexican journalist Juan Cedillo and British journalist Ioan Grillo revealed that Guzman Lopez and others had lured Zambada to a meeting, killed his bodyguards, kidnapped him, and taken him to the U.S. by force as part of an agreement with prosecutors, Breitbart Texas reported. The report also named a Mexican politician who had played a role in brokering the meeting and who has since been murdered.

Subsequent information has also revealed that Sinaloa’s Governor Ruben Rocha Moya was supposed to be at the meeting or was one of the ones who had called the meeting with the drug lords. Since then, Rocha Moya claimed that he was out of the country. The Sinaloa governor is described as a friend and close ally of Mexico’s president. In the aftermath of the revelations, Lopez Obrador has claimed that his political rivals are trying to tarnish him by slinging mud at Rocha Moya.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.