Overview
- Cuban authorities detained Zhang after he entered the island using an alleged false passport, with interrogations under way.
- An Interpol Red Notice extended the search to more than 190 countries, and U.S. federal cases are pending in the Eastern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia.
- Zhang escaped house arrest in Mexico on July 11 while under National Guard custody, intensifying scrutiny of court-ordered home confinement.
- The DEA describes him as a principal financial and logistical operator tied to CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel, accused of trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine and laundering millions through shell companies.
- President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the decision to grant house arrest, as U.S. media reported concerns about its implications for bilateral security cooperation.