Mexican attorney general demands US explain kidnapping, arrest of Mexican drug leader

Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero demanded Tuesday that the US government reveal all information regarding the kidnapping and arrest of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

Zambada was taken against his will in Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico by Cartel rivals and handed to US authorities in El Paso, Texas on July 25. Since then, the drug leader has remained in US custody, awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges.

But the arrest of the 76-year-old drug lord has stirred diplomatic frictions between Mexico and the US.

During a news conference Tuesday, Gertz Manero confirmed that Zambada was kidnapped in Culiacan, Sinaloa's capital, in a "cloned" plane -- an illegal and unlicensed aircraft. Manero explained that the pilot's identity remains unknown and is possibly withheld by US authorities.

"The person (Zambada) who was kidnapped in Culiacan arrived by plane in a border city in the United States. Any plane and person's entry is regulated according to US law. The vehicle, which is the plane, needs to be identified, as it has cloned registration numbers; it is essential to identify the pilot. Why? Because no pilot and no plane can arrive at a US border airport without meeting a series of requirements. These requirements are mandatory for everyone," he said.

Through a letter shared by Zambada's attorney, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel said he was beaten and tied up by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Zambada's former colleague and co-founder of the Cartel.

Guzman Lopez, who is currently in US custody after he surrendered to American security agencies, allegedly kidnapped Zambada and handed him to broker a deal with the US.

While the arrest represents a win for the US, given that Zambada's organization has been pointed out as the US leading distributor of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, Mexico has denounced that the US bypassed its sovereignty.

"That is what we are asking them, to tell us why a cloned plane landed (in US territory) because it was cloned in the United States. Second, why was the pilot not detained under those circumstances? Because there is no registry that tells us how it entered," said Gertz Manero.