Mexico handed over Zhi Dong Zhang to the United States government, accused of trafficking fentanyl for Mexican cartels and laundering millions of dollars. He was arrested a few days ago in Havana after escaping from Mexico City last summer.

The DEA considered Zhang a priority target because his role in the fentanyl crisis affecting the United States, where the drug has caused thousands of overdose deaths.

After his arrest in Cuba, Zhi Dong Zhang, known by the alias Brother Wang, was handed over by the island's authorities to their counterparts in Mexico, where he was placed at the disposal of the United States government, as announced by Omar Garcia Harfuch, federal Secretary of Security.

According to the head of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Zhang's handover was the result of an international cooperation operation led by the Attorney General's Office (FGR), the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), the National Guard, the National Intelligence Center (CNI), and the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE), with the support of the Cuban Presidency.

The United States ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, congratulated Mexico on the arrest of Zhi Dong and expressed his gratitude to the various security corporations that participated in his capture.

Who is Zhi Dong Zhang?

Zhang, also known as “Li Gong Sun Chang”, “Ku Li Hernandez”, “Brother Wang”, “BW”, “Pancho”, “Heh”, “Chino” and “Summor Ownor”, ??is identified as the alleged person responsible for the export, transportation and distribution of more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, 1,800 kg of fentanyl and more than 600 kg of methamphetamines, with profits of more than 150 million dollars annually.

According to investigations, Zhi Dong Zhang had a network of operations in the United States, Central America, South America, Central America, Europe, China and Japan, with alliances with the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG.

Given his relevance, he was captured in October 2024 in Mexico City,was for extradition purposes to the United States, where he is wanted by the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Court for the Northern District of Georgia, but while under house arrest he staged a movie-like escape.

Zhang destroyed the electronic bracelet he was wearing and escaped through a tunnel that connected that house to another adjacent property.

This escape sparked a claim by the United States government, which began an international search led by Interpol, which issued a red notice for his location and capture until this week, finally completing his extradition.