Sheinbaum: neither friendship nor charges are above the law

The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) confirmed that it has already identified the pilot of the aircraft that took Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada to the United States on July 25, 2024. Prosecutor Ernestina Godoy assured that they have his identity, but they did not make it public.

“We have also identified the person who piloted it… navigation services in Mexican airspace provided the audio of the moment in which the pilot of the aircraft that transported Ismael ‘N’ requested the control tower of the Ciudad Juárez airport, Chihuahua, for transponder codes to enter the United States. In addition, through expert opinions on audio, the identification of the pilot was achieved,” Godoy explained.

The pilot is in US territory

David Boone, head of the Specialized Regional Control Prosecutor’s Office, explained that the pilot is currently in the United States. According to Boone, the US authorities deported him to Mexico, but here he was detained for crimes committed, including carrying a firearm, and later handed over to the US government.

A file was opened on the case, although it was not specified whether the pilot was interrogated by Mexican authorities before his surrender.

“The pilot was deported, he continued to operate committing crimes in Mexico; this is the information that appears. He was arrested for carrying a weapon and was handed over, based on the National Security Law, to the United States government. This is the situation that appears in the file regarding the pilot,” said Boone.

The FGR has not revealed the identity of the pilot or the charges he faces in the United States. The case remains under reserve.

The National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM) and the National Guard seized approximately 2.5 kilos of seeds with cannabis characteristics. The discovery occurred inside two voodoo dolls.

Insurance details

Guadalajara Customs personnel detected five cardboard boxes that contained the dolls stuffed with the seeds. The merchandise was hidden in an export shipment. According to the report, the shipment had its origin in Sinaloa and its destination in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. No arrests were reported.

The authorities indicated that the action is part of inspection work to prevent illicit trafficking. After the discovery, the merchandise was delivered to the National Guard to be made available to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR).

Other recent seizures

This is not the only seizure at customs in the country. In recent days, seizures of cocaine and cigarettes have been reported. The Secretary of the Navy, in coordination with the Maritime Customs of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, secured 20 packages with more than a ton of cocaine on a ship.

On July 2, a passenger was detained at the airport in Cancun, Quintana Roo, after 12 kilos of cocaine were seized hidden in a wheelchair. The man came from Medellín, Colombia and posed as a person with a disability.

Two bodyguards of local representative Elizabeth Montoya (Citizen Movement) face a disciplinary process by the Internal Control Body of the state Public Security Secretariat. The reason: they entered a bar in uniform during a World Cup match between Mexico and Ecuador.

The Secretary of Public Security, Sinuhé Téllez López, confirmed the process. The elements were assigned to protect the legislator, who suffered an armed attack on January 28. Following that incident, her security was extended to her husband and daughters.

“The elements committed an irregularity when they entered a bar in uniform to take care of a family member,” declared Téllez.

What happened that night?

In the establishment, at the end of the game, several attendees shouted “Morena out.” Among them, as identified by licensed deputy Teresa Guerra Ochoa—a candidate for state coordination of the Fourth Transformation—was Montoya’s husband, accompanied by the two bodyguards dressed in uniform.

Montoya clarified that her husband did not participate in the shouting or encourage it. She defended that the security protocols are defined by the assigned elements themselves, and that her husband has the right to escort when he goes out alone.

The attack against Montoya and her benchmate Sergio Torres Félix, which occurred in January, caused the deputy an irreversible eye injury. Despite the sanctioning process against the bodyguards, Secretary Téllez assured that the protection of the deputy will continue without changes. The sanctions are only for the elements for wearing the uniform in an illegal place.