Gertz points to the United States for not responding to the request for extradition to Mexico of El Mayo Zambada

You don't become the oldest boss of the Sinaloa Cartel without learning a few tricks. The letter that Ismael El Mayo Zambada sent on February 20 to the Mexican consulate in New York, in which he recycled the arguments of sovereignty and non-interference of the president , Claudia Sheinbaum, to support his case and request a repatriation to Mexico, continues to resonate in the bilateral relationship between both countries, in the midst of a standoff between Sheinbaum and her American counterpart, Donald Trump, who wants to intensify the war against the cartels. The Mexican attorney general, Alejandro Gertz Manero, has taken the blame off himself in the controversy this Tuesday at the Mañanera. Gertz has pointed out that the Public Ministry presented the extradition request "immediately" after the arrest in New Mexico of El Mayo on July 25, which has insisted on four times and that Washington, despite having received the request, has not responded. The ball is in his court, the prosecutor seems to be getting even.

With El Mayo, Mexico is moving on shady ground. The old drug lord accused in a first letter from prison in August that he was kidnapped in Sinaloa by Joaquín Guzmán López, his godson and son of his former partner, Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán Loera; that he was then put on a plane that left him on US soil, where they arrested the most wanted drug lord for decades without firing a single shot. For Zambada, this constitutes a violation of Mexican sovereignty, at a time when the concept is on everyone's lips. Sheinbaum herself acknowledged that he was somewhat right. "No one is defending the character, but the fact," she clarified. A day before Zambada sent his second letter, Trump designated six Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa cartel, as terrorist organizations . The Republican tycoon would not mind venturing south of the border to hunt drug traffickers, which forces Sheinbaum to argue for respect for sovereignty almost daily to curb her counterpart's ambitions. With Zambada, the balance is more difficult.

Trump threatens daily to impose tariffs if Mexico does not strengthen its fight against organized crime and, specifically, against fentanyl. Sheinbaum responds with high-level arrests in Sinaloa , the epicenter of opioid production. And in the case of Mayo, she debates whether to intervene or be cautious and not stir up already troubled waters too much . This Tuesday, she left the floor to Gertz, who has also navigated between two waters: demanding a response from the United States while praising the need for collaboration between both countries in the face of a “common enemy.” “We believe that we have shown that we can work together with transparency and honorability, which is what is being done in Mexico. Instead of disqualifying each other, we should be helping each other,” the prosecutor reiterated.

El Mayo does not want to die in the United States. Although his judicial process still has years left, he knows that one of the possibilities he faces is the death penalty, accused of trafficking fentanyl, the drug that Washington has targeted in the face of the public health crisis it has caused in the country. And Zambada threatens to do everything he can to prevent it. In his letter , he stated that his repatriation to Mexico was necessary “so that the present matter does not result in a collapse in the bilateral relationship,” to prevent other Mexican citizens, “including politicians or government officials,” from suffering the same fate. “This will constitute a dangerous precedent that would allow any foreign government to violate our territory and sovereignty at any time with impunity.”

There are those who have seen Zambada's words as a threat: to pull back the cover and reveal the suspicions accumulated over the years of a close relationship between the Sinaloa Cartel and successive Mexican governments. Mayo's lawyer denies this, but the warning is hidden between the lines. Furthermore, Gertz has recalled that there are three arrest warrants in force against the capo in Mexico, and that being tried in his country does not exempt him from sitting before a court in the United States as well. "Any criminal who has arrest warrants and proceedings in both countries has to abide by the procedures and sanctions of both countries. He can return to Mexico , the arrest warrant can be processed in Mexico, and he can return to the United States and there apply the laws that they consider and that are within the margins of human rights (...) It is the obligation of the Government of the Republic to initiate the extradition procedure and it is the obligation of the Government [of the United States] to give us an answer as soon as possible."

The Mexican Attorney General's Office has also initiated "procedures" on the crime of kidnapping and "illegal transportation of a person against his will," Gertz said, referring to the kidnapping of El Mayo and his transfer to New Mexico. Even so, Zambada's wishes have little chance of being fulfilled: it is highly unlikely that Trump will let the capo, a big game trophy, go . Meanwhile, Gertz has reiterated the need to cooperate: "Mexico and the United States have a common enemy, we must also have a common strategy, as long as that does not become a threat to our sovereignty and our dignity, the president has said this time and again with all reason, and we will continue to maintain it. Intelligence and information are part of the need for investigation; intervention is unacceptable."