Sheinbaum: the unilateral action of the US fueled the crisis in Sinaloa
President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated her position against unilateral interventions by the United States. He said that the transfer of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada without informing Mexico caused an internal fracture in the Sinaloa Cartel and an increase in conflicts.
“It is better to coordinate, it is better to collaborate, because the results are always better when we collaborate than when we act unilaterally, even violating sovereignty,” he stated in his morning conference.
“By taking a criminal kidnapped by another criminal to the United States, with the alleged participation of the United States, an internal division is caused. And that internal division generates a lot of violence in Sinaloa and other parts of the country,” he said.
Sheinbaum questioned the versions of the US authorities. While one version says that Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López arrived on their own, another – attributed to the FBI – states that the aircraft was part of an agency operation.
“So, by saying ‘it was my operation’, it means that they participated, not that they arrived by chance,” he said.
The president insisted that the information should have been shared for the Mexican State to carry out the arrest. He recalled that during Felipe Calderón’s government the Sinaloa Cartel was protected from other groups, which, he said, increased violence.
“We do not make pacts with one another, because what that generates is more violence. The Mexican State must act in accordance with the law and against any alleged criminal, regardless of the cartel,” he stated.
Sheinbaum highlighted that the current cooperation scheme has reduced fentanyl trafficking to the United States by around 70 percent. It has also improved the exchange of information and actions against arms trafficking.
Regarding the pilot of the aircraft that transported “El Mayo”, Sheinbaum reported that next Tuesday the Security Cabinet or the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic will give more details.
“The person who decides the shipments is the National Security Council, and they made the evaluations of each of these people. So, the Prosecutor’s Office or the Security Cabinet itself can explain in particular about this pilot,” he commented.
