Mexican prosecutor's office opens 'treason' investigation over El Mayo's alleged kidnapping

Mexico's prosecutor's office announced it has opened a "treason" investigation as a result of the events that led to the arrest of top cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada in the United States on July 25.

The crimes being investigated include the operation of an unlawful flight and airfield, violating migration and customs laws, kidnapping and treason, the body explained. It added that is seeking information from Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, who "El Mayo" tied with the Sinaloa Cartel.

The prosecutor's office also told its Sinaloa counterpart that it will be taking over the investigation of Culiacán Mayor Héctor Cuen Ojeda, who was killed on the day "El Mayo" was taken to the U.S.

Federal authorities are broadening their role in the case that has roiled the country after "El Mayo" alleged that the Sinaloa governor had ties to the state's cartel. Rocha Moya quickly rejected the claim and received the support of both the outgoing and incoming presidents, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) and Claudia Sheinbaum, as well as several governors who belong to their party, Morena.

In his letter, Zambada claimed that his capture happened because he had been deceived into attending a meeting with Rocha Moya and former congressman Héctor Melesio Cuén. According to Zambada, this meeting, which was supposed to resolve a dispute, was a setup orchestrated by Joaquín Guzmán López, son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. This ambush led directly to Zambada's capture by U.S. authorities.

Rocha Moya strongly denied any involvement in the meeting, saying he was not in Sinaloa at the time. "We have no complicity with anyone (...) therefore, if they said that I was going to be at the meeting, they lied, and if El Mayo believed them, then he fell into the trap," stated the governor, who addressed the issue alongside AMLO and Sheinbaum.

"We have complete confidence in Governor Rubén Rocha, complete confidence in Maestro Rocha, and I congratulate him for facing the situation head-on. He didn't let even a day pass," President López Obrador said.

The governors, on their end, also backed their colleague, "strongly rejecting the false allegations by Mr. Ismael Zambada García," which "unfruitfully seek to tie governor Rocha with himself." "The situation has been clarified by the state official," the letter adds.