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Ken Salazar, former US ambassador to Mexico, asserts in his forthcoming memoir that then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was 'very concerned' that Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada would 'spill the beans' on corrupt Mexican officials. Source: LA Times
In his book "Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America," Salazar writes that an unidentified Mexican businessman—whom he calls "the AMLO whisperer"—told him of López Obrador's worry. The former president allegedly feared that Zambada, arrested in July 2024, could expose ties between Mexican officials and organized crime. Salazar notes he never personally saw evidence linking López Obrador to cartels. Source: LA Times, Mexico News Daily
President Claudia Sheinbaum countered the claim at her morning press conference, stating that López Obrador's concern was about U.S. interference in Mexican sovereignty, not corruption. "There was no worry about what Zambada would tell U.S. prosecutors," she said. Source: Milenio
The memoir's release coincides with heightened tensions over U.S. requests for the extradition of Mexican officials, including Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha and Senator Enrique Inzunza, who are charged in New York with narcotics trafficking. Source: Heraldo The controversy also unfolds as the U.S., Mexico, and Canada renegotiate the USMCA trade pact, raising stakes for bilateral relations.
“Salazar said he had never seen any evidence tieing López Obrador, president from 2018 to 2024, to Mexico’s cartels.”
“The former president feared that 'El Mayo' would 'spill the beans' on corrupt Mexican officials, Salazar wrote, citing information he received from an unidentified businessman he refers to as 'the AMLO whisperer' or simply 'the Whisperer.'”
“Sheinbaum said that her predecessor and mentor was concerned about U.S. 'meddling' in Mexico — not about any inside information on corruption that the jailed capo might provide to U.S. authorities.”
“Claudia Sheinbaum indicó que 'si alguna preocupación tenía el presidente López Obrador, es más bien la participación de una agencia del gobierno de los Estados Unidos en la captura del Mayo Zambada en México para llevarlo a EU.'”