'El Mayo' Zambada Had An Amicable Relationship With Former Mexican President AMLO, Journalist Says

As Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada continues negotiating a potential plea deal with U.S. authorities, reports signal that the Mexican drug lord has revealed key information about the criminal group and its allies.

Ever since being arrested last summer, El Mayo has been in a back-and-forth with U.S. officials. He claims he was kidnapped in Mexico and hauled to the U.S. by Joaquín Guzmán López, one of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's sons.

But as his lawyers continue negotiating a deal with prosecutors, investigative journalist Luis Chaparro says Zambada has shared confidential information about his links to certain political figures.

According to an investigation by Chaparro and reported by Infobae Mexico, one of the most important allies in El Mayo's list is none other than former Mexican president Andrés MAnuel López Obrador (AMLO).

According to Chaparro, Zambada allegedly talked about his trust and respect towards AMLO as part of his description of meetings with presidents, governors, mayors, businessmen, journalists and other drug lords.

"He has not said anything bad about AMLO, on the contrary, he talks about him with great esteem," Chaparro said. "The first thing he said was that he trusted AMLO. My source said Zambada really believed AMLO was going to fix things in Mexico," he added.

Chaparro also mentioned during a conversation he had with one of Zambada's grandkids, he was told Zambada and López Obrador knew each other. "They knew each other. My grandfather was loyal to AMLO," the source told Chaparro.

The Sinaloa cartel allegedly financed AMLO's 2006 presidential campaign

This is not the first time reports suggest a potential amicability between López Obrador and El Mayo. Last year, journalist Anabel Hernández published an investigation that suggested the Sinaloa cartel had contributed between $2-4 million to AMLO's ultimately unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2006.

According to Hernández, the illicit funding was corroborated by testimonies of cartel members and people close to AMLO. In exchange for the money, the criminal group allegedly asked for protection and for the ability to influence political appointments in case AMLO won the presidency.

Zambada also allegedly revealed to have worked with other politicians such as former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, former Sinaloa governor Mario López Valdez and current Sinaloa governor Rubén Rocha Moya.

Mexican and American outlets have reported about the links between AMLO and drug cartels in the past, with the former president consistently rejecting the accusations and labelling them as "completely false."

What's next for El Mayo?

On Jan. 15 Zambada appeared before a judge in Brooklyn, New York, where he ratified his decision to be represented by lawyer Frank Pérez, the same lawyer that will represent his son, Vicente Zambada Niebla alias "El Vicentillo," who allegedly reached a deal with prosecutors and could be called in to testify against his own father.

Zambada's next hearing will take place on April 22, 2025. He is facing a total of 17 charges, such as overseeing a multi-billion-dollar conspiracy to flood American communities with narcotics, including deadly fentanyl.