In response to AMLO’s claims about the lack of cooperation from the United States following the arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, Ambassador Ken Salazar responded that it was an operation between drug cartels.
“There were no U.S. resources in that operation (…), it was not our agents or our people in Mexico. This was an operation between the cartels where one handed over to the other,” said the American diplomat in a press conference yesterday afternoon.
On July 25, “El Mayo” Zambada and Guzmán López were detained by U.S. authorities when they landed at a private airport in New Mexico.
Yesterday, during the morning press conference, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked questions about the plane, the pilot, and whether any foreign agency participated in the operation.
“There is no cooperation from the US government in this case, that is, they have not given us sufficient information.
“For example, what happened to the pilot? What did they do with the pilot? Who was he? And of course, what do they know about where the plane came from?” he asked.
In this regard, Salazar said, the U.S. authorities did not know in advance the flight plan of the aircraft, but, according to initial investigations, they now know that it left Sinaloa.
“They did not provide a flight plan, there was no ‘flight plan’ registered with the United States agencies. There is none. Our understanding is that the flight left Sinaloa and is arriving in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
“The pilot of the plane was not, and is not, an employee of the United States. He is not a person hired by us and he is not a US citizen,” Salazar stressed.
In the morning, López Obrador said that the Biden administration had provided very general information.
“Indeed, they have not provided sufficient information. They provided very basic information that a plane arrived in El Paso, Texas; that they had an agreement with Guzmán López some time ago, and that when the plane arrived it not only landed with Guzmán López but also with Mr. Zambada. That is the information, just a cloned plane,” he said.
The Ambassador confirmed that Guzmán López turned himself in to the US justice system and that they were surprised to learn that “El Mayo” was on the plane that landed in New Mexico with “El Chapito.”
To demonstrate that there is cooperation between both countries, Salazar reported that last Tuesday he accompanied FGR agents to carry out some procedures in the US as part of the investigation file that was opened in Mexico on the case.
The Ambassador assured that he is ready to meet with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and share the information that his country’s government has on the arrests of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López.
The diplomat said that since the arrest on July 25, he has been in communication with officials from the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the Secretariat of Public Safety and Citizen Protection (SSPC).
– “Ambassador, have you already spoken personally with President López Obrador about this issue? Would you hold a meeting to address this issue?” he was asked.
“Look, I have had a lot of dialogue with the people I work with, the FGR, the SSPC and, obviously, I am always ready to talk when there is time,” he said.
Salazar highlighted the cooperation between countries in combating arms and drug trafficking.
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