Mexico City. The United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, revealed that Joaquín Guzmán López, son of Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán, voluntarily surrendered to the government of his country, and that “the evidence at the time of arrival indicates that Ismael El Mayo Zambada was taken against his will,” in addition to the fact that no resources from his country were used in the capture.
At a press conference, the diplomat read a statement in which he stressed that the fact that both alleged drug traffickers “are in custody represents a serious blow to curbing the trafficking of synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and its precursors. This fact reaffirms our shared commitment to protect the health, safety and well-being of our people.”
After explaining how both López and Zambada arrived in the United States, Salazar said that “no U.S. resources were used in the surrender. It was not our plane, nor our pilot, nor our people.”
My statement regarding the findings regarding the custody of Ismael Zambada García “El Mayo” and Joaquín Guzmán López #SharedSecurity
— Ambassador Ken Salazar (@USAmbMex) August 9, 2024
He added that “no flight plan was filed with U.S. authorities. We understand that the flight began in Sinaloa and landed in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The pilot was not an employee or contracted by the U.S. Government, nor was he a U.S. citizen.”
The ambassador reiterated that this “represents a great victory for both countries. It is the result of very determined work based on the principles of respect for our sovereignties and that we do this work as partners.”
In addition to the arrests of Guzmán López and Zambada, he said, “others have been added, such as Rafael Caro Quintero, Ovidio ‘El Ratón’ Guzmán and Néstor Isidro Pérez ‘El Nini’ and others. The cooperation between our countries as partners has allowed us to strike these and other accurate blows. We will continue to collaborate with respect for our sovereignties under the Bicentennial Framework and our shared security.”
The press conference in which Salazar made these remarks was called with only an hour’s notice, so many media outlets were unable to attend.
It was also organized after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador lamented in his morning press conference today that regarding the transfer and capture of drug traffickers Ismael El Mayo Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López “there is no cooperation from the United States government,” since the information they have given to Mexico is insufficient, “very basic, very general.”
As reported by this newspaper, the head of the Executive asked several questions, some of which were later answered by Salazar.
“What happened to the pilot? What did they do with the pilot? Who was he? And of course, where the plane came from. We want to know more about the negotiation. If it was an agreement or how Mr. Zambada’s lawyer came to declare that he had been detained. We need to know all this well,” López Obrador asked.
#Mayo #Zambada #transferred #Ken #Salazar
– 2024-08-14 04:07:04
