Mexican justice: where escapades are more predictable than a soap opera ending
Now, ladies and gentlemen, get ready for another episode of “The Mexican Judiciary: Incompetence or Comedy?”. In this installment: Claudia Sheinbaum, our favorite president to raise eyebrows, is dispatched against a judge who – surprise – let Zhi Dong Zhang escape, alias “Brother Wang”, “Pancho” or simply “The Chinese who should not be at home”.
It turns out that this Chinese citizen, alleged supplier of fentanyl for the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels (because what better resume than fueling addictions and deaths), enjoyed his house arrest as if it were a luxury Airbnb. Until, oh coincidence, he ran away! Who would have imagined it? Well, everyone except the judge, apparently.
The prosecution vs. the judicial “nothing happens”
Sheinbaum, in his role as “the voice of exasperated reason”, dropped gems like: “How is it possible?” (a rhetorical question that we Mexicans ask ourselves daily). According to her, the Prosecutor’s Office fought like a cat on its back to prevent this release, but the judge decided that an alleged international drug trafficker deserved a remote control more than handcuffs. Bravo for selective justice!
And here’s the funniest thing: the subject was under the protection of federal agents. Were they watching Netflix while “Pancho” walked out the back door? Or did they confuse “custody” with “valet parking”? The Security Cabinet will give the details, although probably with the same efficiency with which they found Chapo… on the third time.
By the way, Zhi Dong Zhang is not just any “entrepreneur.” The United States wants him for exporting enough drugs to keep all of America awake: more than 1,000 kilos of cocaine, 600 of methamphetamines and 1,800 of fentanyl (enough for an elephant to see colors). All this, according to the American federal courts, which – unlike ours – do believe in the concept of “prison”.
The icing on the cake: he was arrested in October on Santa Fe Avenue (because drug traffickers love nice areas), in an operation that involved the Navy, Army and Security. So many uniforms so that in the end everything was resolved with a “stay home, Mr. drug dealer.” Could it be that they confused “arrest order” with “curfew”?
Moral: If you want to evade justice in Mexico, make sure you have a judge with better judgment than a six-sided die. And if you’re a prosecutor, bring extra coffee for those long nights of frustration.
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