Mexico's president urges cartels to avoid fighting after leader arrested

Mexico's president has issued a public appeal to drug cartels to not fight each other following the arrest of a powerful leader by US authorities.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said at his daily press briefing that he trusted that drug traffickers knew they would only suffer if they stepped up the internal wars that already plague the Sinaloa cartel.

"Those who are engaged in these illegal activities know they resolve nothing with confrontations," Lopez Obrador said, adding: "They would go out and risk the lives of other human beings, and why make families suffer?"

"I trust that there will be no confrontations," he said, despite the fact the army announced over the weekend that it had sent an additional 200 elite soldiers from a paratrooper unit to the state of Sinaloa just in case.

But the Sinaloa cartel has been riven for years by fighting between followers of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, and rivals who follow the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, the father of Joaquin Guzman Lopez. There are other sons still at large.

Zambada was detained last week by US authorities, with the key assistance of Guzman Lopez, who voluntarily handed himself over at the same time. Both men, who face various drug charges, were arrested and remain jailed.

Zambada’s lawyer pushed back Sunday against claims that his client was tricked into flying into the country, saying he was “forcibly kidnapped” by Guzman Lopez. If that were true, it could stoke accusations of betrayal, and additional fighting, between the factions.

The detention of Zambada and Guzman Lopez has proved a major embarrassment for the president, Mexican officials were forced to admit they knew nothing about the operation until it was all over.

Lopez Obrador has a record of publicly appealing to drug gangs for peace, sometimes even praising them.

In 2021, Lopez Obrador praised the largely peaceful voting in elections that year and sent a message of recognition to the drug cartels that fuel much of the country’s violence.

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Frank Perez, Zambada’s attorney, said his client did not end up at the New Mexico airport of his own free will.

“My client neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the US government,” Perez said in a statement. “Joaquin Guzman López forcibly kidnapped my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin.

"His legs were tied, and a black bag was placed over his head."

Perez went on to say that Zambada, 76, was thrown in the back of a pickup truck, forced onto a plane and tied to the seat by Guzmán López.

Known as an astute operator skilled at corrupting officials, Zambada has a reputation for being able to negotiate with everyone, including rivals.

Prosecutors brought a new indictment against him in New York in February, describing him as the "principal leader of the criminal enterprise responsible for importing enormous quantities of narcotics into the United States."

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