Mexico has repeatedly asked the United States to send back drug trafficker Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who is wanted in his home country, but has received no response, its attorney general said Tuesday.
Mexico sought Zambada's extradition "on four occasions," Alejandro Gertz told reporters, adding that the requests were made before Joe Biden's presidency ended in January.
"We have not had a response," Gertz said, adding that several arrest warrants had been issued for Zambada in Mexico linked to drug trafficking.
The 77-year-old, who co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was arrested in the United States last July along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of El Chapo.
Zambada alleged that he had been kidnapped in Mexico and taken to the United States in a private plane against his will, in an apparent attempt by Guzman Lopez to gain leniency for himself and an imprisoned brother.
The Mexican public prosecutor's office is investigating the possible crimes of "kidnapping" and "illegal transportation" in relation to the case, Gertz said.
Faced with the possibility of being sentenced to death in the United States, Zambada has also asked Mexico to seek his repatriation.