Overview
- Cuban authorities detained Zhang after he arrived in Havana using an alleged false passport and formally notified Mexico of his arrest.
- Mexico is awaiting completion of Cuban questioning before a handover that officials indicate would lead to prompt extradition to the United States.
- Zhang was first arrested in Mexico City in October 2024 on a U.S. request from a federal court in Atlanta, then escaped house arrest on July 11 while under National Guard watch.
- U.S. indictments in New York and Georgia accuse him of coordinating large-scale fentanyl, cocaine, and meth trafficking and laundering tens of millions of dollars through shell companies.
- The DEA considers him a principal financial and logistics operator for CJNG and Sinaloa, and Interpol issued a Red Notice that extended the search to more than 190 countries.