Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says US arrest of infamous cartel leader triggered violence in Sinaloa state which has resulted in nearly 50 murders
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that the US government is partially responsible for a wave of violence plaguing northwestern Sinaloa state that has resulted in nearly 50 murders and dozens of disappearances.
Lopez Obrador was alluding to the arrest of Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias "El Mayo,” a powerful leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, in El Paso, Texas on July 25 by US security agencies, which ignited a violent power struggle between various criminal groups vying for power.
During a press conference Thursday, Lopez Obrador was asked if the US was "co-responsible" for the violence that has engulfed Sinaloa.
"Yes, of course it is…For having carried out the operation," he said.
On Aug. 10, the 76-year-old drug lord shared through his lawyer that his arrest was not voluntary but a trap set by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Zambada's former partner within the Sinaloa cartel.
Reportedly, Guzman Lopez beat up, tied up and placed Zambada in a private plane to hand him over to US authorities. The ambush and arrest of the former cartel leader took place without the knowledge of the Mexican government, raising friction with its northern neighbor.
"And that requires an explanation because if we are now facing a situation of instability and confrontation in Sinaloa, it is (partly) due to that decision," said Lopez Obrador.
Since Sept. 9, Sinaloa has been subjected intense violence, amassing 47 murders and around 60 disappearances, according to Mexican authorities.
The Mexican government has asserted that the violence is a direct result of Zambada's arrest, which caused a power struggle between his loyalists and the faction of the cartel controlled by El Chapo's sons, known as the Chapitos.
