Cuba has arrested a suspected Chinese language fentanyl kingpin who escaped from custody in Mexico and can be wished by america, the Mexican authorities stated Wednesday.
The trafficker Zhi Dong Zhang, recognized by the alias “Brother Wang,” is alleged to have labored intently with Mexico’s Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation drug cartels, designated “overseas terrorist organizations” by Washington.
His arrest was confirmed by the Security Secretariat.
Official sources confirmed to BBC Mundo on Wednesday that the Chinese language nationwide is being detained in Cuba and that Mexican authorities “are ready to see whether or not he can be deported or extradited.” Interpol hd issued a crimson discover towards him in August.
Detained in Mexico in October 2024, Zhi Dong Zhang was held in a jail in Mexico Metropolis awaiting a listening to for his extradition to america, the place a warrant has been issued for his arrest on cash laundering prices.
He was granted home arrest, from which he escaped in July.
Zhi Dong Zhang is taken into account “a serious worldwide cash laundering operator,” Mexican Safety Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch stated final 12 months. He’s accused of laundering at the least $20 million within the U.S. between 2020 and 2021 by utilizing greater than 100 shell firms and financial institution accounts, El Pais reported.
The trafficker was accountable for “establishing connections with different cartels for the switch of fentanyl from China to Central America, South America, Europe, and america,” he added.
Washington underneath President Donald Trump has been making use of stress on Mexico and China to curb drug trafficking, significantly of fentanyl, the highly effective painkiller behind an overdose epidemic in america. The Trump administration as hit each nations with steep tariffs.
Fentanyl is an artificial opioid that’s 50 times more powerful than heroin and far simpler and cheaper to supply.
It has largely changed heroin and prescription opioids equivalent to oxycodone as a cause of overdoses in america.
President Claudia Sheinbaum’s authorities has ramped up drug seizures underneath tariff stress from Trump, who has threatened additional punitive measures except the issue is solved.
Though Mexico has been the principle supply of fentanyl bought in america, Washington has more and more centered its consideration on China-based suppliers of precursor components.
From Havana, two sources near the case advised AFP the detainee can be extradited to Mexico, however didn’t specify a date or present particulars in regards to the course of.
Communist Cuba has not formally commented on the reported arrest.
The arrest comes because the U.S. continues navy strikes towards alleged drug visitors boats off South America. After destroying two alleged drug vessels on the Pacific facet of Latin America this week, the U.S. has now carried out 9 recognized strikes towards alleged narcotics trafficking boats since final month, resulting in at the least 37 deaths. The primary seven strikes have been within the Caribbean Sea.
A type of strikes hit an alleged “narco sub,” killing two on board however leaving two survivors, a person from Colombia and a man from Ecuador. In a social media put up, Mr. Trump claimed the sub was loaded with fentanyl and different medicine. There’s little proof to point that fentanyl is produced within the Andes area, which incorporates Ecuador, because the overwhelming majority of it flows into the U.S. by means of Mexico.
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” “We need to hold fentanyl out of america, … however these routes by means of the Caribbean on boats are predominantly used to convey cocaine to Europe,” to not the U.S. And fentanyl tends to be transported to the U.S. “from a unique approach,” Kelly added.
