The drug lord arrested in the United States Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has formally requested Claudia Sheinbaum's government to process his repatriation, something the Zócalo Square has said it will evaluate and dispose of maybe next Tuesday. “This requirement is not optional, nor can it be interpreted as a matter of political or diplomatic opportunity", Zambada asserted in a threatening mode. There are certain conditions under which he could be sent back to Aztec soil, from where he was allegedly taken by deception and also with the use of force last year to be handed over to the U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas. The responsibility for these events seems to fall on a son of his former partner in the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín “Chapo” Guzmán, sentenced to life imprisonment also in the north.
The administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador was very critical of this operation, of which there was no information in advance for them and neither afterward, at least not with the depth they demanded. To make matters worse, the apparent betrayal of the Chapitos to the people of “El Mayo” provoked deadly infighting in the Sinaloa cartel, which caused blood to overflow in the referred state, especially in Culiacán, the capital city—since the beginning of September some 880 homicides have been reported, with five registered just last Thursday. The Sinaloa cartel is one of those designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and then Canada this week.
Returning to Zambada's request, Sheinbaum seems to see it with good eyes especially because of the dark side of his detention in the States, with hints of violation of Mexican sovereignty. “No one is defending the [man],” she clarified in her press conference on Friday. “Beyond the person and his crimes... the issue is how this arrest took place,” which in this case can be defended as falling under the criminal definition of "treason". Next, “El Mayo” argues that serious errors were processing his entry, as he particularly tries to avoid the death penalty. Zambada never set foot in a Mexican jail, while in the United States, he is being tried for his alleged responsibility in the continued and widespread trafficking of fentanyl.
Ante petición del "Mayo" Zambada de que el Gobierno de México intervenga para repatriarlo, Claudia Sheinbaum (@Claudiashein) dijo que que se planteará el tema a la FGR.
— Emeequis (@emeequis) February 21, 2025
"Más allá de la persona y sus delitos, porque esa es otra cosa, el asunto es cómo se da esta detención,… pic.twitter.com/ezPvjsaLbD
Brazil slows down BRICS
President Lula has set fairly quiet goals for BRICS' next steps, with the implicit assumption that the bloc does not intend to provoke Donald Trump. Brasilia temporarily chairs the group of emerging economies that in addition to the founding nations now also includes Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia—in this case without formalizing its membership yet—, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. The focus of the BRICS, according to the Brazilian representative there, will be to design a joint proposal to finance the fight against climate change, a task for which 300 billion dollars have been agreed in principle to reinforce efforts to preserve the habitat in the poorest countries.
The Brazilian official reaffirmed that BRICS is not in favor of introducing a new bloc currency. “It has not been discussed and is not being discussed” because ‘[it] is too complex a process,’ said Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio. In truth, the bloc is still in “declaration of intent” mode, unable to find a clear common goal amidst ideological wrangling and crippling internal disputes such as that of India—courted by Washington—and China. In a dynamic that speaks volumes about what the group lacks to be strong, certain ports in the Asian giant have refused to receive Russian tankers sanctioned by the OFAC, and last year there was also a moratorium on the processing of Moscow-related transactions by major Chinese banks.
BRICS | The First Sherpa's Meeting of BRICS' Brazilian Presidency will take place in Brasília on February 25-26, 2025. Brazil's Sherpa to BRICS, Ambassador Maurício Lyrio spoke today to the press about how the meeting will be structured and Brazíl's priorities for the meeting. pic.twitter.com/kQIEp356Qz
— TV Brasil Internacional (@tvbrasilinter) February 21, 2025
Nearly all Global South countries are officially part of China's Belt and Road Initiative.
— Kyle Chan (@kyleichan) February 19, 2025
Interestingly, the most notable exceptions are the other major BRICS countries: Russia, India, Brazil. pic.twitter.com/LQ0mfnH45u
What else?
The Donald Trump administration has included Cuba and “the Maduro regime” among the “foreign adversaries” that could see limited their access to U.S. capital, technology, and technical knowledge. This Friday the American president signed a memorandum aimed “to preserve an open investment environment to help ensure that artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies of the future are built, created, and grown right here in the United States.” The main focus of the memorandum is China, but Cuba and Venezuela ultimately join the Asian giant along with Iran, North Korea, and Russia in the short list of countries affected by the new measure. Interesting is the absence here of Nicaragua, which Washington tends to always place alongside Cuba and Venezuela as part of the so-called axis of evil in the Western Hemisphere. Trump accuses China of “increasingly exploiting United States capital to develop and modernize its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses”. Critical excerpts of the memo are below.
(b) Yet for investment in United States businesses involved in critical technology, critical infrastructure, personal data, and other sensitive areas, restrictions on foreign investors’ access to United States assets will ease in proportion to their verifiable distance and independence from the predatory investment and technology-acquisition practices of the PRC and other foreign adversaries or threat actors.
(c) The United States will create an expedited “fast-track” process, based on objective standards, to facilitate greater investment from specified allied and partner sources in United States businesses involved with United States advanced technology and other important areas. This process will allow for increased foreign investment subject to appropriate security provisions, including requirements that the specified foreign investors avoid partnering with United States foreign adversaries.
(…)
(e) The United States will reduce the exploitation of public and private sector capital, technology, and technical knowledge by foreign adversaries such as the PRC. The United States will establish new rules to stop United States companies and investors from investing in industries that advance the PRC’s national Military-Civil Fusion strategy and stop PRC-affiliated persons from buying up critical American businesses and assets, allowing only those investments that serve American interests.
SourceDe Moraes vs. All
Brazil Supreme Court justice orders Rumble suspension nationwide for alleged non-compliance. By @MSavarese https://t.co/sNXWHO60rM pic.twitter.com/mk1xd9kurj
— E. Eduardo Castillo (@EECastilloAP) February 22, 2025
