Mexico probes possible FBI role in El Mayo Zambada arrest

Mexico has ordered a probe into whether FBI agents played a role in the capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, turning a cartel arrest into a test of trust inside a close security partnership. The dispute centers on how Zambada was brought across the U.S. border on a private plane on July 25, 2024 and handed into U.S. custody.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico had asked Washington multiple times for information about any U.S. agency involvement, then directed the Foreign Ministry and the security cabinet to investigate whether FBI agents helped lead the operation. She said the government would pursue answers through direct consultation channels rather than send a formal diplomatic note, underscoring how politically sensitive the case has become in Mexico City.

U.S. officials have given a different account. Former ambassador Ken Salazar said no U.S. agency took part in the arrest, while later saying he and former attorney general Merrick Garland informed the Mexican government about the case. Mexican officials have warned that if U.S. agents participated without telling Mexico, it could violate sovereignty and international agreements. Sheinbaum has also publicly questioned whether Salazar misled Mexican authorities.

The controversy sharpened after reports that the plane used in the transfer is on display at the War Eagles Air Museum in Texas under an arrangement tied to the FBI. That detail has fed suspicions in Mexico that the operation may have been more coordinated than U.S. officials first acknowledged. The disagreement matters beyond one arrest: any undisclosed FBI role could strain cooperation on cartel cases, migration enforcement and the flow of fentanyl across the border.

The facts surrounding the capture remain contested even after two men at the center of the episode faced U.S. court proceedings. Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, admitted in U.S. court that he orchestrated Zambada’s kidnapping to lure him onto the plane. U.S. officials have said Zambada and Guzmán López were arrested by authorities after arriving in New Mexico, while federal Homeland Security Investigations has described the July 25 arrests as the result of a joint HSI and FBI investigation targeting the Sinaloa Cartel.

Zambada later pleaded guilty in U.S. court in August 2025 to drug-trafficking charges in a case that accused him of leading a criminal enterprise for decades. That plea closed one chapter of the case, but the question of who arranged the flight, who knew about it and whether Mexico was left in the dark has kept the dispute alive on both sides of the border.