The arrest of El Mayo Zambada weakened the Sinaloa Cartel and strengthened the CJNG, experts say

The arrest of Ismael El Mayo Zambada has raised various doubts about the conditions under which the arrest was carried out, not only of the man identified as a collaborator of Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán, but also of Joaquín Guzmán López, one of El Chapo’s sons, under the protection of the North American authorities.

Given this scenario, the media La Jornada Maya recorded the statements of two security specialists who work at UNAM, who spoke about the arrests that occurred in Texas, United States. They are Raúl Benítez, from the Center for Research on North America (CISAN), as well as Adalberto Santana, from the Center for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CIALyC).

According to the aforementioned media, the investigators shared their points of view in different interviews, but they agree on some issues.

El Mayo and El Chapo’s son were captured in Texas (Photo: Infobae)
It should be noted that the most widely spread versions about the arrest of Ismael Zambada and El Chapo’s son can be divided into two. On the one hand, the lawyer Frank Pérez, who legally represents El Mayo, told the EFE agency that his client was kidnapped, so he did not surrender nor did he reach an agreement.

Precisely, the possibility that Ismael Zambada decided to cooperate with the North American authorities is another of the versions. Meanwhile, Mexico indicates that it would be an agreement. “There was an agreement between people who are in prison with people who are free,” said Rosa Icela Rodríguez last Tuesday, August 6.

According to the experts interviewed, the version about an agreement with the authorities by Ismael Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán would be the most probable scenario. The specialists point out the low effectiveness of the Mexican government in intelligence tasks, since they did not know data on the mobilization of the men mentioned.

Media personnel at the private airport in Doña Ana County, where a plane believed to be carrying Mexican drug trafficker Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López was found (Photo: REUTERS/José Luis González)REUTERS
The possible negotiation also does not clarify the facts, as the instigators point out that details such as which US security institution was involved in the deal are not known.

Among the details revealed so far is that Zambada and Guzmán would have taken a plane to reach US territory. Journalist Peniley Ramírez wrote a column about the case about an aircraft possibly linked to the case. Meanwhile, the governor of Veracruz, Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, assured that the plane is being investigated, which apparently has its main port in Xalapa.

Strengthening of the CJNG after the capture of El Mayo and Josquín Guzmán
The specialists interviewed by La Jornada also agree that the arrests in Texas can be seen as a weakening of the Sinaloa Cartel, at the same time that the rival organization, the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), has been strengthened.

It is worth remembering that both criminal structures are the ones with the greatest presence in Mexico, in addition to the fact that the most recent report from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) indicates that both criminal groups are the ones that have reached the entire territory of the United States.

For his part, Ismael Zambada will be taken from Texas to Brooklyn, New York, although the date for the transfer is not known, it is the court where Joaquín Guzmán Loera and Genaro García Luna were tried. The first is in a maximum security prison and the second is awaiting sentencing after Judge Brian Cogan determined that his trial will not be reinstated.

In addition, New York authorities indicate that if El Mayo is found guilty, his real estate assets will be confiscated, estimated at around 14 billion dollars, which contrasts with the reward of 14 million dollars for the capture of said man offered by the DEA.

Source: infobae