No evidence, no clues against General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda

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Redacción Heraldo USA

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Publicado: 22/7/2025 · 1:52 p.m. MX | Actualizado: 22/7/2025 · 1:52 p.m. MX

The Mexican Government investigated General Cienfuegos on its initiative — it was not a condition set by the U.S. government for his return. The case lacked strength and was full of inconsistencies, which led to the conclusion that the General was not guilty.

General’s Background

• His military career started in January 1964.

• He was promoted to Division General in 2004.

Sigue leyendo:

Aerolíneas mexicanas reaccionan ante sanción de vuelos de carga a EE.UU.

La presidenta Sheinbaum ha confirmado que se ha instalado una mesa de diálogo para levantar las sanciones comerciales con EE.UU.

• He has a Master’s degree in Military Administration.

Various Positions Held

• Zone and Regional Military Commander.

• Director of multiple military institutions, including the Heroic Military College.

• Inspector and Comptroller General of the Army and Air Force.

• Senior Officer at the Department of Defense.

• Secretary of National Defense.

Awards

• Decorated by armed forces from other nations, including the United States.

On October 15, 2020, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda was detained at Los Angeles International Airport on alleged charges linking him to organized crime cartels in Mexico, raising questions about the integrity and reputation of the Mexican Armed Forces.

A. General Cienfuegos was essentially ambushed in the U.S. while with his family and was charged with offenses never previously attributed to him.

B. Then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr wrote in his book One Damn Thing After Another: “On October 26, when Foreign Secretary Ebrard called to object to the arrest, [...] I apologized and explained that the arrest hadn’t followed standard procedures, and that neither I nor the DEA Chief knew about it in advance. I made it clear that I was willing to return Cienfuegos and was handling the necessary formalities to do so [...] He (Ebrard) suggested that if we provided Mexico with the evidence against Cienfuegos, Mexican authorities would investigate the case.”

C. Christopher Landau, then U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, said in his final press conference on January 14, 2021: “It’s important to emphasize that we returned General Cienfuegos without conditions, because the prosecutor reviewed the entire case and decided that this matter really should be investigated by Mexico first. As I said, we have huge governments, huge bureaucracies, and sometimes there are misunderstandings.”

D. The Mexican Government fulfilled its promise with an expedited investigation conducted by the FGR, based on the alleged evidence provided by the Acting DEA Director, suggesting the General’s ties to a criminal group.

E. The FGR confirmed that the evidence mainly consisted of intercepted written communications among members of a criminal organization. Some mentioned a “Godfather” and included photos of text messages from someone named “Zepeda.”

F. It was confirmed that the messages raised serious doubts and did not match the academic, professional background, or personality of General Cienfuegos. It was concluded that the messages were most likely fabricated by one of the criminals to deceive the group’s leader and extort money from him.

Below are some messages and their inconsistencies.

G. The FGR reviewed the General’s assets and financial/banking transactions, including reports from the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) and the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), and found no irregularities or assets that are inconsistent with his military income earned over more than 50 years of service.

H. Former President López Obrador directed the release of the entire DEA case file so that the public could see the lack of credible evidence and the absurdity of the accusations.

I. Moreover, the FGR formally requested more than three times that the U.S. government provide all the evidence it had used or planned to use against the General under the bilateral Legal Assistance Treaty. This included interceptions, videos, audio recordings, witnesses, and any other evidence. The U.S. government only delivered the same message transcripts and claimed that fulfilled their obligation—there was no additional evidence.

Redacción Heraldo USA