Sinaloa state officials previously contradicted alleged cartel kingpin El Mayo’s account of his associate’s murder. Now, those state officials are under federal investigation.
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Federal authorities have uncovered evidence that supports accused drug trafficker Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s assertion that former Culiacán mayor Héctor Cuén was murdered at the same place Zambada says he was kidnapped before his arrest in the United States in late July.
That evidence, the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) said on Sunday, is blood found at a property in the Huertos del Pedregal area of Culiacán that belongs to Cuén, who was also an ex-rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) and founder of the regionally influential Sinaloa Party.
“El Mayo” Zambada said he was kidnapped at a meeting near Culiacán and that Cuén was killed at the same location. (Cuartoscuro)
Zambada, an accused Sinaloa Cartel leader who pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in the United States last month, said in a statement in August that Cuén was killed “at the same time, and in the same place” where he was kidnapped.
That place, Zambada said, is a property outside the city of Culiacán where he believed he was going to help settle a dispute between Cuén and Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya over who should head up the UAS.
Rocha has denied he was at the meeting.
El Mayo claimed that he was lured to the meeting by Joaquín Guzmán López, who he alleges kidnapped him with the assistance of “a group of men.” The group allegedly forced him onto a private plane that took him to an airport near El Paso, Texas, and delivered him into the hands of United States law enforcement officials.
According to Zambada, the day of his kidnapping he went to Cuén’s ranch near Culiacán to meet with both Cuén (shown at center) and Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya (at right). (Autonomous University of Sinaloa)
The FGR also accuses Guzmán López, a son of convicted drug trafficker and Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, of kidnapping Zambada.
In a statement on Sunday, the FGR said that a “significant advance” was made in the investigation into the kidnapping of Zambada, the murder of Cuén and the forced disappearance of several other people — crimes it said are “directly linked” to Guzmán López, who flew to the U.S. with Zambada and was also taken into custody. The FGR attributed the advance to a joint action with the federal Security Ministry, supported by the National Guard, the Army and the Navy.
“At a property located in Huertos del Pedregal, Culiacán, hematic evidence was found that has been determined with complete precision … to correspond to the ex-rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa,” the FGR said.
The evidence “confirms information previously obtained” that shows that Cuén was “at the place of the kidnapping,” the FGR said.
The FGR also said that the “traces of blood” found at the property “correspond to the time” at which it has established that the homicide occurred.
The Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office (FGE) initially said that Cuén was killed at a gas station in Culiacán, and released a video that supposedly supported that version of events.
However, the FGR rejected the FGE’s version of events, and reiterated on Sunday that Cuén was killed “many hours” before the gas station attack took place.
Este video publicado por la fiscalia de #Sinaloa que capturó el ataque a Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda en la gasolinera.
Tumbaría totalmente las declaraciones del Mayo Zambada. pic.twitter.com/2Hke2VLzJQ
— Freddy Oliviery (@FreddyOliviery) August 13, 2024
The Sinaloa Attorney General’s office widely shared this video in the days after Cuén’s murder, describing it as proof that the politician was murdered during an attempted robbery at a Culiacán gas station.
“Furthermore, in the tray of the vehicle used in the gas station cover-up, human blood was found that corresponds to Rodolfo “C,” the FGR said, adding that that person is “currently missing” and has been identified as a member of Zambada’s security team.
It also said that “a clear and precise video was obtained,” in which Cuén’s driver “denies what he had previously declared to local authorities with respect to different moments of the disappearance and death” of Cuén.
“All of the above confirms the ministerial and police investigations that determined the alleged criminal and administrative responsibilities of police, … [forensic] experts and various personnel of the Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office, who have already been exhaustively investigated with respect to their participation in the case of the death of” Cuén, the FGR said.
Sara Bruna Quiñónez Estrada resigned as attorney general of Sinaloa in August after discrepancies between the state and federal findings came to light.
The FGR said it will present “all the proof” against the relevant FGE officials to an “alternative judge” in the coming days, as a federal judge in Culiacán refused to issue warrants for their arrests.
The alleged kidnapping of Zambada by Guzmán López caused a major escalation of a long-running dispute between the “Los Mayos” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel and the “Los Chapitos” faction, which is headed up by the sons of “El Chapo.”
In the first 18 days of this month, there were 110 homicides in Sinaloa, many of which were attributed to the ongoing conflict between the rival cartel factions.
With reports from El Financiero and El Economista
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