'El Mayo' Zambada has unfinished business in Mexico: How many arrest warrants does he have in the country?

The Attorney General's Office (FGR) reported on Tuesday, February 25, that it has asked the United States four times for the extradition of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada , who last Friday demanded his repatriation to Mexico and who, according to Mexican authorities, has pending proceedings in the country.

"The procedure to which this person refers is a requirement that has already been complied with and in full," said the head of the FGR, Alejandro Gertz Manero , at the morning conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum.

The prosecutor stated that, since the capture of the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel on July 25, 2024 , the FGR "initiated an extradition procedure before the North American authorities for this person who had left the country against his will, who has three valid arrest warrants."

According to Gertz Manero , this investigation includes the possible kidnapping of 'El Mayo' Zambada and his illegal transportation to the United States.

Prosecutor Gertz Manero added that Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada has three outstanding arrest warrants in Mexico.

“Not only did we submit it immediately, but in December of last year, the United States Department of State acknowledged that it already had that requirement. We have insisted on four occasions to the previous Administration (of Joe Biden, 2017-2021) of the American Government and we have not had a response,” he said.

"It is the Government's obligation to initiate the extradition process " and the United States administration has the obligation to respond to the requests , the prosecutor said.

Last week, the legal team of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, which includes lawyer Juan Pablo Penilla (accused of being 'awarded' by the PAN) , delivered a letter to the Government in which the drug lord said that the Mexico-US bilateral relationship will collapse if he is not repatriated .

The defense of 'El Mayo' Zambada argued that his handover to United States authorities was "illegal and irregular" and violated various treaties signed with Mexico such as the American Convention on Human Rights or the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Juan Manuel Delgado, also a lawyer for 'El Mayo' Zambada, clarified that his client is not negotiating any agreement with the United States to obtain his freedom.

In this regard, his legal advisor, Frank Pérez , commented in an interview with journalist Ioan Grillo that 'El Mayo' Zambada will not become a 'snitch' for the Donald Trump Government.

“The problem now is trying to determine whether the U.S. is going to seek the death penalty or not. He has the possibility of receiving the death penalty on two counts , so once the decision is made to do what they call ‘not seek,’ meaning they are not going to seek the death penalty, then yes, he is interested in a plea deal,” he clarified.

The FGR considers Zambada's arrest in the United States a "kidnapping" because, although no US agents were involved in Mexico, he was betrayed by Joaquín Guzmán López , one of the sons ofJoaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, who put him on a plane to hand him over.

“Since July of last year, when these events occurred, the Government of the Republic and, therefore, the Attorney General's Office immediately initiated proceedings for a series of crimes that were committed in Mexico, the crime of kidnapping, the illegal transportation of a person against his or her will,” the prosecutor explained.

These events have sparked a dispute since September 9 between the Los Chapitos and Los Mayos factions of the Sinaloa Cartel , a state in the northwest of the country that has accumulated more than 800 murders since then, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP).

With information from EFE