A Chinese language citizen accused of trafficking fentanyl has been extradited from Cuba to the USA, in response to the Mexican authorities, which helped facilitate the switch.
Zhi Dong Zhang, often known as “Brother Wang,” escaped home arrest in Mexico in July, and has now been transferred into U.S. custody, in response to Mexican Safety Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch.
Zhi is accused of being “liable for worldwide drug trafficking, cash laundering, and alliances with legal teams with a presence within the Americas, Europe, and Asia,” Harfuch stated, in response to BBC Mundo.
He’s alleged to have labored carefully with Mexico’s Sinaloa and Jalisco New Era drug cartels, designated “overseas terrorist organizations” by Washington.
The Cuban authorities stated that “after a proper request for extradition,” the alleged trafficker was handed over to Mexican authorities.
Neither Mexico nor Havana has specified whether or not Zhang was transferred to the USA by way of Mexican soil, or if he was transported immediately from Cuba.
A needed poster launched by Mexican prosecutors in July stated that along with “Brother Wang,” Zhi has a number of different aliases, together with “BW,” “Pancho,” “HeHe” and “Mr. T.”
Zhi is taken into account “a serious worldwide cash laundering operator,” Garcia stated final 12 months. He’s accused of laundering at the least $20 million within the U.S. between 2020 and 2021 through the use of greater than 100 shell corporations and financial institution accounts, El Pais reported.
The alleged trafficker was liable for “establishing connections with different cartels for the switch of fentanyl from China to Central America, South America, Europe, and the USA,” he added.
His arrest in Cuba was initially confirmed Wednesday by Mexico’s safety secretariat.
Since President Trump returned to the White Home in January, Washington has been making use of stress on Mexico and China to curb drug trafficking, significantly of fentanyl. The Trump administration has hit each international locations with steep tariffs.
Fentanyl is an artificial opioid that’s 50 instances extra highly effective than heroin and far simpler and cheaper to supply.
It has largely changed heroin and prescription opioids comparable to oxycodone as a reason for overdoses in the USA.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s authorities has ramped up drug seizures beneath tariff stress from Mr. Trump, who has threatened additional punitive measures except the issue is solved.
Though Mexico has been the principle supply of fentanyl offered in the USA, Washington has more and more targeted its consideration on China-based suppliers of precursor substances.
The extradition comes because the U.S. continues army strikes towards alleged drug site visitors boats off South America, together with one reported on Friday that killed six folks on a vessel within the Caribbean.
