Mexico City — The capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has reignited a diplomatic dispute between Mexico and the United States after a news report revealed that the plane used to transport the Sinaloa cartel leader to the U.S. is now part of an FBI exhibit — contradicting the former U.S. ambassador’s public assurances that no American agency participated in the operation.
President Claudia Sheinbaum directly questioned the contradiction during a press conference, asking: “Who lied? Did Ambassador Ken Salazar lie?”
The controversy stems from a July 2, 2026, report by Mexican outlet Pie de Nota, which stated that the Beechcraft King Air aircraft that flew Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López to Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on July 25, 2024, was donated by the FBI to the War Eagles Air Museum. The plane, valued at approximately $650,000, is on display for two years under a memorandum of understanding between the FBI and the museum.
Kimberly Carrillo, acting public affairs officer for the FBI’s El Paso field office, told the outlet that “this plane is an example of the FBI’s priorities, which include defending national security and the relentless fight against violent crime.” The exhibit aims to “educate the public about the important work law enforcement does to stop these fugitives.”
However, on August 9, 2024, then-U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar publicly stated that no U.S. agency had participated in Zambada’s capture. The Mexican government accepted that version at the time.
“The response from Ambassador Ken Salazar, publicly and directly, was that there had been no participation by any U.S. agency,” Sheinbaum said. “Yet in recent days, we learned through a news report that the plane in which these two organized crime members arrived is exhibited at a fair where the FBI claims credit for the operation.”
Sheinbaum stressed that the contradiction raises two critical issues: first, whether an ambassador provided false information to the Mexican government; second, whether a U.S. agency operated on Mexican soil without notifying authorities, potentially violating national sovereignty and international law.
Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez presented a timeline of events. She noted that on January 5, 2023, Ovidio “N,” a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested in Jesús María, Culiacán, in an operation that killed 10 Mexican army personnel. He was extradited to the U.S. on September 15, 2023.
On July 25, 2024, the U.S. Embassy informed Mexico of a change in Ovidio’s pretrial measures without consulting the Mexican government, which Rodríguez said violated the extradition treaty. That same day, the aircraft carrying Joaquín “N” and Ismael “N” arrived in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, where U.S. authorities arrested them.
Rodríguez highlighted that the plane left Mexico without its transponder on, activating it only five minutes before landing in New Mexico. Mexico requested information from the U.S. Embassy on July 31, 2024, about possible U.S. agency involvement. Salazar’s public denial came on August 9.
Foreign Relations Secretary Roberto Velasco said Mexico has asked the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (FGR) to formally request more information from the FBI. “We have also been in communication with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico on this matter,” he said, adding that the embassy has provided some details on how the plane was loaned to the museum.
The Pie de Nota report also noted that serial numbers on parts of the aircraft were erased or altered, and that the registration N287KA originally belonged to a different model registered in the U.S.
Sheinbaum said the FGR must explain how a plane with a reportedly cloned registration and an inactive transponder could leave Mexico and enter the U.S. without detection.
Beyond the question of who lied, Sheinbaum raised another issue: who might have made deals with organized crime members. “We will never make agreements with any member or any organization of organized crime, never,” she asserted.
The case remains open, with Mexico seeking clarification through diplomatic and ministerial channels. The FGR and the Foreign Relations Secretariat are expected to request further information and eventually explain what happened before, during, and after the flight that took Zambada to U.S. soil.
Meanwhile, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch reported that Mexico maintains a force of 16,440 personnel in Sinaloa, primarily from the army, navy, National Guard, and the Security and Protection Secretariat. Since October 2024, authorities have arrested 2,540 people for high-impact crimes, seized over 94.5 tons of drugs (including 1,300 kg and 2 million fentanyl pills), 5,900 firearms, and 1 million rounds of ammunition. They have also destroyed 2,412 methamphetamine labs.
