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Information leading to the Trump administration’s deadly military strikes against boats in the Caribbean — including one on Monday that left three “drug traffickers” dead — has been traced back to an unlikely source: One of Mexico’s most notorious cartel bosses, sources told The Post.
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, 77, the former co-head of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, made a deal with the government last month, agreeing to plead guilty to drug trafficking, plotting murders and torture in exchange for life in prison rather than the death penalty.
“It’s clear to me that El Mayo Zambada cut some deals with the US government, and tipped them off about how Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles was working with the Sinaloa Cartel to sell drugs,” said Robert Almonte, a Texas-based security consultant and former deputy chief of the El Paso Police Department who specialized in narcotics.
“Shortly after the government cut a deal with El Mayo, Trump sent battleships to Venezuela,” he noted.
The timing of the August plea deal coincided with President Trump’s threats against the government of leader Nicolas Maduro, who was indicted on drug trafficking charges for allegedly heading up the cartel along with other prominent members of his government in 2020.
In July, the federal Treasury Department sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), accusing it of narcoterrorism.
On Monday, the US military targeted a boat the US administration said was carrying illegal drugs in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, killing three.
Earlier this month, the US carried out another deadly strike against what Trump described as a “drug-carrying” boat off the coast of Venezuela, killing 11 people. The first bombing took place days after the US deployed war ships to the coast of the South American country in August.
The source of information about these boats is likely Zambada who, in addition to overseeing the production of cocaine and heroin, was in charge of international logistics for the Sinaloa cartel, including moving drugs to the US and coordinating with partners in Colombia and Venezuela, Almonte said.
Zambada also may have ratted out some other high-level traffickers in the Sinaloa Cartel. On Tuesday, the Department of State announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Juan Jose Ponce Felix (“El Ruso”) who now heads the Cartel.
“Ponce Felix is the right arm of El Mayo,” said Almonte. “I’m thinking Zambada explained how far El Ruso is involved in the cartel in his debriefing to the feds.”
Earlier this month, agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested 170 alleged members of the Sinaloa cartel in New England. They also seized 245 kilos of drugs and dozens of weapons as well as $11 million in cash, according to reports.
While Zambada has been spared the death penalty, according to a DOJ press release, it’s unclear if the US has promised him anything else in return for his info. Almonte said he would also likely have attempted to negotiate for protection for his family in Mexico as part of the bargain.
“There’s no doubt about it,” said Almonte. “Zambada cut a deal, and gave the government all he knew about Venezuela and the US is acting on it. There’s a new sheriff in town. This administration is serious about stopping the deadly flow of drugs into our country.”
A lawyer for Zambada did not return The Post’s request for comment on Monday.
Zambada helped create the Sinaloa Cartel in 1987 alongside the infamous Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. He is currently serving a life sentence at a maximum security facility in Colorado following his conviction on drug trafficking and murder.
Unlike Guzman — who was twice jailed in Mexico but escaped both times, before being caught and extradited to the US in 2017 — Zambada evaded capture for nearly 40 years.
Zambada was arrested last year when he was duped into boarding a plane in Mexico that delivered him to US authorities in Texas. In a letter written from prison, Zambada maintained that he was “kidnapped and brought to the US forcibly and against my will.”
In addition to Zambada, one of El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in a July plea deal.
The Cartel de los Soles “provided material support” to the Sinaloa Cartel as well as Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal gang that has engaged in both human and drug trafficking, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In addition to targeting drug trafficking in Venezuela, Almonte says the Trump administration also wants to destabilize Maduro’s government, and force the Marxist leader to step down.
Maduro was sworn in for a third term in January amid claims of widespread voter fraud.
“And I bet you everyone in that country is going to welcome the US military,” Almonte told The Post.
For his part, Maduro has ordered Venezuelans to train as part of militias to fight off any US attack.
English (US)