Two years ago, the Sinaloa Cartel’s ruthless boss Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García was bundled into a Beechcraft King Air private jet.
In a stunning betrayal by Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of drug lord ‘El Chapo’ who co-founded the cartel, Zambada says he was lured to what he thought was a meeting with senior politicians. Hours later, he would find himself in FBI handcuffs on American soil – after evading capture for nearly four decades.
The 76-year-old, who is due to be sentenced on Monday, has accepted a life sentence in prison but will not be in a maximum security facility, a letter from his lawyer said.
The circumstances around Zambada’s arrest have remained a mystery ever since US officials first denied playing a role on the operation in 2024.
The Mexican government is now investigating a report by local media outlet Pie de Nota that claims that the FBI was behind the capture, in a revelation that would place further strain on the US-Mexico relationship.
A document seen by the outlet and passed onto the government said the FBI had “successfully executed a highly complex, secretive and daring arrest of two of the world’s most wanted fugitives” in what it called “Operation Air Kings”.
Assisting the operation were agents and officers from the FBI El Paso Field Office, the document says.
Mexico attorney general Ernestina Godoy said that, if the reports of FBI involvement are confirmed, “then all signs point to three serious issues: a series of violations of Mexican and international law; a pact made outside the bounds of the law; and a lie told by a US diplomat, which would constitute a breach of the cornerstone principle of good faith in diplomatic relations.”
Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, said a day afterwards that the issue is “whether there was a violation of sovereignty”.
For decades, the interference of US intelligence agencies in central America has been a highly contentious issue. Four decades ago, the CIA was accused of turning a blind eye to cocaine trafficking into the US by the anti-communist Nicaraguan Contra rebels as they supported the war against the Marxist Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).
Mexico has a long history of military and political interference, raising consistent questions about their sovereignty and violations of national independence.
The secretive transfer in July 2024 has boosted fears that US operatives are widespread and active in Mexico, once again throwing the spotlight onto the use of underhand American tactics on Mexican soil – yet again without the permission of the national government.
The US government maintains to this day that it did not play a role in the operation to fly Zambada to Texas. “It was not our plane, not our pilot, and not our operation,” Salazar wrote on X last week. “La verdad es la verdad, the truth is the truth.”
But the plane was recently put up for display in New Mexico’s War Eagles Air Museum – with a plaque alongside it displaying the document seen by Pie de Nota.
“It was all very murky,” says Dr Christopher Sabatini, the director of the Latin America programme at Chatham House. “I think [El Chapo’s son], probably to save his own skin and get a lighter sentence, sold out his father’s colleague, but it was all very murky.
“I could never quite figure out. Who sold out who? Was the FBI sort of coincided with who tipped off? There are a lot of details, and hopefully this will begin to shed some light on something that didn’t quite entirely look right at the time.”
Why the FBI appears to have claimed responsibility for the arrest – despite the ongoing denials from members of the former US government – also remains a mystery.
Indeed, prosecutors confirmed in May 2025 that they would not seek the death penalty for López in the event of a conviction, despite the charges against him allowing this. The 40 year old pleaded guilty in December and will be sentenced on 20 July.
Zambada, meanwhile, who had been led by López to believe he was traveling to northern Mexico to look at prospective properties for clandestine airstrips, will spend “the rest of his life behind bars”, US attorney general Pam Bondi said last August.
‘Mexico will be embarrassed, not surprised’
Washington’s official denials that it was involved have long been met with suspicion in Mexico City.
For some, recent evidence of US involvement is not a surprise, given what appeared to be the seamless organisation of his arrest.
At the time, of his arrest, several issues cast doubt over US assertions that it was not involved.
“It isn’t entirely surprising. It didn’t quite feel right, you know the idea that El Chapo would coax on a colleague of his – there was always a sense the FBI or DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] had to be involved in this in some way,” Dr Sabatini said.
“How did they get landing clearing rights [in Texas]? There had to be some awareness of who was who, how were they able to fly so freely.”
Mexican authorities have long suspected US collaboration with López – given that it is something of an open secret that there are a significant number of US operatives in Mexico.
“I don’t think the Mexican government is surprised deep down. I think it’s probably embarrassed. I’ve been to Mexico many times, and there are many CIA, DEA, and FBI officers, agents, undercover and not undercover, crawling all over Mexico.”
The incident has left Sheinbaum in a tricky situation, with the diplomatic relationship between Mexico City and Washington in testy waters – especially after the US declined to renew the landmark US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade pact in its current form.
Picking a fight with the Trump administration is often more costly than it is worth – but the government does need to be seen to express “some level of outrage over a violation of national sovereignty”, Dr Sabatini says.
The best response may be for the Mexican president may be to admit that Mexican authorities knew the US was operating on its soil, for several reasons, he adds.
“The first is it doesn’t make them look like they got completely snookered by the US, which isn’t good. It would avoid her having to performatively denounce the US and risk the broader economic relationship,” Dr Sabbatini adds.
“But the third is, quite frankly, is if you look at surveys, the majority of Mexicans are very concerned about crime. They may actually, if this is framed correctly, approve of this.”
