The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico, Omar García Harfuch, has acknowledged this Wednesday that, to date, the authorities have not managed to locate properties in the name of the drug trafficker Ismael 'El Mayo Zambada', former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.
"In his name specifically, no," he indicated to the media, detailing that a "considerable amount" of bank accounts and real estate related to various criminal organizations have been identified thanks to the investigations of the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), including those of the Sinaloa Cartel.
However, García Harfuch has not provided additional information about those findings. When questioned about 'El Mayo's' intention to serve his sentence or part of it in Mexico, the Security official emphasized that, if an extradition request is made, the final decision will rest with the country's Prosecutor's Office.
These statements come after the president, Claudia Sheinbaum, pointed out that the Prosecutor's Office is studying the possibility of claiming a portion of the 15 billion dollars that the judge has ordered to be confiscated from 'El Mayo', sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple drug trafficking and organized crime offenses, after pleading guilty to evade the death penalty.
Zambada was arrested on July 25, 2024, at an airport in Santa Teresa, in the state of New Mexico, near El Paso, when he landed on a private plane along with the son of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, Joaquín Guzmán López, who handed him over to U.S. authorities under an agreement with Washington, without informing the Mexican Government.
The drug lord stated in a letter in August 2025 that he was "kidnapped" by Guzmán when he went, supposedly deceived, to a meeting at a ranch on the outskirts of Culiacán to, in theory, resolve disputes among local politicians. According to his version, there he was made to enter a "dark room," where he was immediately "ambushed" by several men who placed a hood over his head, handcuffed him, and put him on the plane that ultimately transported him to Santa Teresa.