With Security Minister Omar García Harfuch in attendance, security issues were a key focus of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday morning press conference.
Here is a recap of the president’s Aug. 27 mañanera.
García Harfuch: Certain factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are ‘weakened,’ but organization has ‘several heads’
A reporter asked the president whether the government was in a position to declare the Sinaloa Cartel “extinct,” given the “downfall” of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán several years ago and the arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who this week pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in a U.S. court.
Sheinbaum referred the question to García Harfuch.
“No, no,” García Harfuch said, dismissing any possibility of declaring the extinction of the Sinaloa Cartel, a major criminal organization that ships large quantities of narcotics, including fentanyl, to the United States.
“The Sinaloa Cartel has never had a [single] leader as such,” the security minister continued.
“In other words, it has always had several leaders. It’s a cartel that has several branches, let’s say. One of those was [led by] Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, another by ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, then [there are] the sons of ‘El Chapo; ‘El Guano,’ who is also a brother of ‘El Chapo’; [and] another [faction] of ‘El Chapo’ Isidro,” García Harfuch said.
“… The cartel can’t be [considered] finished because there are several heads of this [group] that was once [a more unified] Sinaloa Cartel,” he said.
“There are still cells and very important criminal leaders that have to be arrested,” García Harfuch said.
Asked whether the Sinaloa Cartel was at least weakened, the security minister responded:
“Certain factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are weakened.”
Two of those factions, Los Chapitos and Los Mayos, are engaged in a long-running war that has claimed more than 1,000 lives since September 2024.
Sheinbaum: Money linked to ‘El Mayo’ that is seized in Mexico should benefit the Mexican people
A reporter noted that Zambada has committed to forfeit US $15 billion to the U.S. government, and asked Sheinbaum whether her government will allow U.S. authorities to seize accounts and assets linked to the cartel leader in Mexico.
The president first said that there is no guarantee that Zambada will hand over such a large amount of money to the U.S. government.
She subsequently said that “there is coordination” between Mexico’s Finance Ministry and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, suggesting that the two entities could work together to seize money and assets linked to Zambada.
Sheinbaum said that if there is a “seizure of resources” in Mexico and that money is transferred to the United States, her government “would have to ask” for it to be returned to Mexico “for the benefit of the people.”
She said that the money would be “distributed for the people, for the most modest people.”
“That’s why there is an Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People,” Sheinbaum said.
García Harfuch: No evidence of an alliance between Los Chapitos and CJNG
A reporter asked whether the government had any information about an alleged alliance between Los Chapitos and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)
The New York Times reported on June 30 that a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel “led by sons of the drug lord known as El Chapo” had “allied with an old and powerful adversary, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to four people familiar with the matter.”
García Harfuch said that there was no evidence of such an alliance.
He said that narco-banners had appeared in Sinaloa with messages indicating that CJNG members were in the state and helping to strengthen Los Chapitos.
However, “everything indicates” that Los Chapitos themselves created the banners to make people believe “there was this alliance,” García Harfuch said.
He said that there has been “no arrest that confirms there is an alliance” between Los Chapitos and the CJNG.
Sheinbaum: ‘We don’t establish collusive relationships with anyone’
A reporter asked the president whether her government had any information about police, military personnel and politicians receiving bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel, as Zambada said occurred during his leadership of the criminal group.
Sheinbaum once again referred the question to García Harfuch, who acknowledged that there have been arrests of municipal and state police officers who were allegedly on the take.
“To this time, we haven’t had any military person or marine [who was found to be] involved in this kind [of illicit activity],” the security minister said.
García Harfuch also said that the government had no information about public officials or politicians receiving payments from the Sinaloa Cartel.
“If there is any investigation, as always, it will be reported with complete transparency. We will conduct the investigation and arrest whoever we have to arrest,” he said.
Sheinbaum chimed in to declare that, “We don’t establish collusive relationships with anyone.”
She said that if any “person, politician or public official” is suspected of having links to criminal groups, they will be investigated.
“But we don’t have, at this time, any proof against any public servant or member of the army or navy. And if any evidence were to be found, all of us who are part of the Security Cabinet will not cover up for anyone,” Sheinbaum said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
