Ismael Zambada García

In Mexico, specifically in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, we are observing an intense escalation in cartel violence.

This destabilization directly follows the apprehension of the high-profile drug lord known as El Mayo Zambada.

The resulting power vacuum has triggered open militarized warfare between two primary factions, Los Chapitos and La Maiza.

We must examine how cartel violence functions as parallel governance.

For example, just this week, she talked about how some of the heightened violence in the north and northwest of the country in which there's been something like almost 4000 deaths and another 4500 disappearances.

She tried to blame a lot of that on the U.S. grabbing of one of the Mexican cartel leaders, El Mayo Zambada, saying, well, that destabilized the situation.

So a lot of that violence has to do indirectly with this Mexico action situation.

She even made a statement recently that if the U.S. is complaining about Mexican cartel violence, well, it's very difficult for Mexico to be, as their northern neighbor, a country that has so much drug consumption and produces so many weapons that are smuggled across the border.

But it's interesting, in recent, uh, weeks you've seen her begin to push back a little bit, again, with the 2027 upcoming elections in, in mind.

Uh, for example, uh, just this week, uh, she talked about how some of the heightened violence, uh, uh, in the north and northwest of the country, uh, in which there's been something like, uh, you know, almost 4,000 deaths and another 4,500 disappearances, um, she tried to blame a lot of that on the, um, the, the US, uh, grabbing of one of the Mexican cartel leaders, uh, El Mayo Zambada, saying, "Well, that destabilized the situation," so a lot of that violence has to do indirectly with this Mexico action.

Uh, she even made a statement, um, recently that, uh, you know, if the US is complaining about Mexican cartel violence, well, it's very difficult for Mexico to be, um, you know, have as, as their northern neighbor a country that has so much drug consumption and, and produces, you know, so many weapons that are smuggled across the border.

So it's interesting to see that while there continues to be cooperation, while Sheinbaum continues to be the, the so to speak, uh, Trump whisperer maintaining those positive relations, um, she is under a lot of pressure, uh, in her own political system to push back and, and she is starting to, uh, to, to push back in, in noticeable ways.

Go get your First Form supplements at firstform.com slash borderland.

My next guest is Joe Hefferon, who is an investigative journalist who brings some new information that he's uncovered about the capture of El Mayo.

Very interesting stuff, stuff that we've never heard before.

You guys check it out.

So for some context, can you give the listeners a brief background on the Sinaloa cartel, when it was founded, and what the circumstances were of the origin of it?

The cartel started about 37 years ago.

Key to this kind of some of the palace intrigue here is that it was started by El Mayo Zambada and El Chapo, the famous El Chapo that escaped from prison from under his toilet in a and a tunnel.

So he was started 37 years ago in Sinaloa.

Um, and now it's, of course, CJNG, extremely powerful, and they're essentially absorbing the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa cartel, El Chapo's faction, because they made an alliance, an alliance with them, fighting against the Mayos, Mayito Flacos faction of the Sinaloa cartel.

Um, and when I was in Sinaloa this summer, I went to Culiacán and across Sinaloa for a couple of weeks just to kinda get the two-year update since El Mayo was captured.

Sean, it was like you're just...

You're not walking in a city.

Um, and he has been profiting off of it for a long time openly at the cost of the people in that state.

Now, to kind of paint you a picture, he was having a sort of dispute with a state legislator in Sinaloa.

This was right before El Mayo was captured, and this was kind of part of the whole, uh, bigger picture of how the Sinaloa cartel or how El Chapo's faction at least and his family are gonna move forward and be protected.

So when El Mayo was captured, it was because he was set up by El Chapo's son to go to a meeting to resolve the conflict between the governor of Sinaloa, Rocha Moya, and this state legislator.

He went in and took them down.

You don't think he had their names? They took down Chapo and El Mayo right here in my backyard.

You don't think they gave up names? You don't think Maduro gave up names? Dude, they got it all mapped.

You don't think when they were being led over here that Trump was running a simultaneous operation with Biden? mapping and tracking and tracing every immigrant that came over here.