Ex U.S. ambassador says Mexico's former president feared Sinaloa boss would expose corrupt officials
Key takeaways
- The account prompted pushback Monday from President Claudia Sheinbaum.
- “There was no worry about” what Zambada would tell U.S. prosecutors , Sheinbaum said.
- U.S. brings drug charges against Rúben Rocha Moya, governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, and other members of President Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party.
Ken Salazar, then U.S. ambassador to Mexico, gives a news conference at his residence in Mexico City in 2022. (Marco Ugarte / Associated Press) By Patrick J. Mc Donnell Foreign Correspondent June 22, 2026 4:49 PM PT 6 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
MEXICO CITY — A new memoir by an ex-U.S. ambassador in Mexico — who wrote that former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador feared that a drug kingpin arrested by the FBI would “spill the beans” on corrupt Mexican officials — has ignited a media firestorm in Mexico.
In his book, Ken Salazar, the former U.S. envoy to Mexico City, said that the July 2024 arrest outside El Paso of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada — co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa cartel — prompted López Obrador to worry that the mob boss would inform U.S. prosecutors about Mexican authorities in cahoots with organized crime.