[REVISION HISTORY]

Mexico-US Zambada dispute and asset recovery efforts

Updated 5 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-21 16:12 UTC → 2026-08-25 11:48 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Since Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s July 2024 capture and his July 2026 sentencing to life in prison without parole in Brooklyn, the dispute over U.S. involvement has deepened. U.S. prosecutors also ordered a $15 billion forfeiture, an amount the Justice Department states estimates total damage rather than identified assets. Following the New York conviction, a U.S. federal judge in California dismissed four criminal charges against Zambada to avoid duplicate prosecution. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has maintained that the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR) continues its investigation into how Zambada entered the United States. She has declined to comment on potential agreements between Zambada and U.S. authorities, noting the security cabinet should provide an opinion. Tensions have escalated as Sheinbaum announced Mexico will formally request the return of assets seized from Mexican narcotraffickers and corrupt officials, including the $15 billion linked to Zambada, to be used for the benefit of the Mexican people. New evidence has emerged regarding the 2024 transport operation, including video footage showing the aircraft landing at Santa Teresa airport in New Mexico with FBI and DEA personnel already deployed on the runway. This supports Zambada’s defense that he was lured to a meeting and forced onto the plane. Reports also suggest a U.S. command may have entered a property near Culiacán to facilitate the transfer to a clandestine airfield. In August 2026, the investigation expanded following the arrest of Fausto Corrales Rodríguez in Mexico City by the FGR. Corrales, a key witness who accompanied Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda to the meeting where Zambada was allegedly kidnapped, is accused of covering up the homicide of Cuén Ojeda and providing false statements to obstruct the investigation. Investigators allege Corrales provided contradictory information, including a discredited claim that Cuén was attacked at a gas station.

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