Jeffrey Lichtman, attorney for Ovidio Guzmán López, points to a historic omission in the Sinaloa drug lord’s capture.
Jeffrey Lichtman, attorney for drug trafficker Ovidio Guzmán López, once again stirred controversy after openly criticizing President Claudia Sheinbaum for demanding the extradition of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada from the United States, arguing that the Mexican government had never attempted to capture him for more than five decades.
In a post on social media, Lichtman questioned the Mexican authorities’ sudden interest in bringing “El Mayo” to justice. “For 50 years they did nothing, and now that he is no longer in Mexico, they cannot stop demanding his return,” wrote the litigator, who has represented several high-profile drug lords, including Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
The lawyer also mocked Sheinbaum’s speech, accusing her of acting as “El Mayo’s public relations spokesperson,” and suggested that her statements were made for political positioning, without a solid ethical or institutional basis.
Lichtman’s criticisms arose after the president declared that her administration would continue to request formal information from the United States government on Zambada’s whereabouts, under a system of international coordination without subordination, which—she said—is based on mutual respect, sovereignty, and judicial cooperation.
The figure of El Mayo Zambada has been a powerful shadow within drug trafficking in Mexico. Considered one of the founding leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, his ability to remain under the radar for decades has raised multiple questions about the government’s true will to capture him.
Now, his alleged detention on US soil has revived the debate: Why was his arrest never achieved in Mexico? Was there complicity, negligence, or simple incompetence?
For Lichtman, the answer is clear: the government failed to act when it should have, and now it lacks the moral authority to demand justice.
With information from El Financiero
