Mexico has officially launched a sweeping investigation into whether the US lied about El Mayo capture details back in 2024, an action that could expose a breach of international law and state sovereignty.
Why Mexico Suspects the US Lied About El Mayo Capture
For nearly two years, the U.S maintained a strict narrative: the July 2024 arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, the legendary co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, was entirely a rogue, internal betrayal. The official story claimed Joaquín Guzmán López (El Chapo’s son) tricked El Mayo onto a private aircraft inside Mexican territory and delivered him directly to the FBI’s hands at a Texas airport near El Paso.
Former US Ambassador Ken Salazar flatly denied any American boots on the ground, famously stating, “It was not our plane, not our pilot, and not our operation.”
However, the entire cover story began unravelling this week due to an incredibly brazen move by the FBI. The bureau recently placed the actual Beechcraft King Air 200 aircraft used in the abduction on public display at the War Eagles Air Museum in New Mexico. Right next to the plane, a formal museum plaque explicitly brags that two FBI agents “successfully executed a highly complex, secretive and daring arrest of two of the world’s most wanted fugitives.”
Mexican Attorney General Ernestina Godoy did not hold back after these revelations. She pointed out that when Mexican investigators tried to inspect that very plane in August 2024, American authorities blocked them from taking photos and provided completely fake identification logs for the aircraft.
Escalating Tensions Under President Claudia Sheinbaum
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the scandal directly during her morning press conference, demanding clear answers from Washington.
The timeline below highlights how secret American operations have repeatedly triggered national security alarms in Mexico over recent months, turning the El Mayo case into a tipping point.
1. The El Mayo Museum Exposure
July 2026
The FBI puts the 2024 capture plane on display in a New Mexico museum with a plaque taking full credit for the operation, completely contradicting years of diplomatic denials.
2. Sinaloa Indictments & Counter-Demands
May 2026
The US Justice Department indicts high-ranking Mexican politicians from the ruling Morena party. President Sheinbaum retaliates by demanding “irrefutable evidence” before considering any extraditions.
3. Unauthorized CIA Border Raid
April 2026
Two CIA agents die in a mysterious accident during an anti-drug operation at a synthetic lab in Chihuahua. Mexico launches a national security probe into unauthorized foreign operatives working on its soil.
My Opinion:
If the museum plaque is telling the truth, then the US lied about El Mayo capture protocols to execute a rogue kidnapping on foreign soil. Yes, El Mayo was a ruthless drug kingpin responsible for pumping poison across the globe, but running unauthorized style abductions inside a sovereign ally’s borders is a terrible, short-sighted strategy.
By keeping Mexico completely in the dark, the US managed to bag a high-profile target for a domestic headline, but it left a total mess behind.
The arrest triggered a brutal, bloody civil war within rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel that has claimed thousands of Mexican lives. Fighting organized crime requires open coordination, not deceptive diplomacy that treats an entire country like an unregulated sector.
Bottom Line
With proof mounting that the US lied about El Mayo capture mechanics, the relationship between President Sheinbaum and Washington is entering its most complicated phase yet.
