Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office finds evidence of the murder of the former rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa that reinforces complaints by Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada

( Spanish) –– The Attorney General’s Office of Mexico (FGR) reported this Sunday that it found forensic evidence that places the former rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda, on a farm at the time of his homicide, something that came to light publicly in a letter in which Ismael “el Mayo” Zambada, founder and leader of the Sinaloa cartel, reported having been kidnapped and taken against his will to the United States to be handed over to the authorities of that country.

The Prosecutor’s Office reported in a statement that it carried out analyzes on a farm located in Huertos del Pedregal, Culiacán, where signs were found that Cuén was in the place and that “his blood prints correspond to the time in which the Public Ministry of the Federation has established the moment of his homicide, which occurred many hours before the video of a gas station broadcast locally, which has already been disqualified by the FGR itself.”

The entity added that in the car that was used to carry out “the assembly of the gas station”, human blood was found that also belonged to another man, who is missing and is allegedly a member of the Zambada security force.

The statement also explained that Cuén’s driver retracted his initial statements “regarding various moments of the disappearance and death of the aforementioned doctor.”

The Prosecutor’s Office added that its investigation suggests that there are “criminal and administrative responsibilities of police, public ministries, experts and various personnel of the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Sinaloa” for their alleged participation in Cuén’s death.

Until this Sunday, the Sinaloa Prosecutor’s Office had not commented on the matter and is trying to obtain comments.

The Prosecutor’s Office said that in the coming days it will present evidence before a judge to determine arrest warrants in the case, after “a federal judge in Culiacán” refused to carry out these proceedings.

is also trying to obtain comments from the Federal Judiciary on this complaint.

The findings reported this Sunday by the FGR reinforce what Zambada reported in August, when through his lawyer a letter was made public in which he said that he was “ambushed” and “kidnapped” by a son of the famous drug trafficker Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán and handed over to the US authorities.

In that statement, Zambada said that on July 25 he arrived early at a ranch that was heavily guarded by armed men in military uniforms outside the city of Culiacán, in the state of Sinaloa. He had been told at the meeting that the state governor, Rubén Rocha Moya, and other officials would participate and that the meeting was to “help resolve differences between political leaders in the state,” according to the statement. has not been able to verify this information.

According to Zambada, Cuén was at that meeting and was murdered.

The governor of Sinaloa denied having participated in the meeting.

Sara Bruna Quiñónez Estrada, who was attorney general of Sinaloa, even resigned from her position after federal authorities pointed out failures in the investigation of Cuén’s death.

In his statement, Zambada indicates that, in a room with a table covered in fruit, Joaquín Guzmán López gestured for the head of the cartel to follow him to a nearby dark room, where a group of men assaulted him, knocked him to the ground and He put a dark hood over his head.

According to Zambada, they also tied him up, handcuffed him, and forced him into the back of a pickup truck. He then said he was driven to a landing strip and forced onto a private plane, where Guzmán López removed his hood and tied him to a seat. After a nearly three-hour flight to El Paso, Texas, US authorities detained him.

The Government of Mexico has said that Zambada’s kidnapping was part of a plan organized by Guzmán López and his brother Ovidio Guzmán López, extradited in 2023 to the United States. The Guzmán brothers’ lawyers deny that there was any agreement.

–– Belén Zapata contributed to this report.