A Chinese man accused of being a cocaine and fentanyl kingpin is now in U.S. custody, according to Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch.
Authorities say Zhi Dong Zhang, also known as “Brother Wang,” was arrested in Cuba earlier this year after months on the run. Zhang was previously detained in Mexico City in 2024 on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering but was granted house arrest while awaiting extradition to the United States. He then escaped.
Zhang is accused of operating an international network that laundered money for Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels. Officials say his criminal reach extended to the United States, Europe and Asia.
Harfuch said Zhang’s capture followed a large-scale international search effort involving multiple agencies and countries. He credited extensive coordination and assistance from Cuban authorities in the operation.
Zhang was taken into custody in Cuba on July 31, along with two other people. Harfuch publicly thanked Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel for his cooperation in the arrest.
The arrest comes amid rising tensions in the region following the Trump administration’s recent military deployment in the Caribbean — a move that has strained relations between the U.S., Cuba and Venezuela.
Following that deployment, Díaz-Canel posted on X, expressing solidarity with Venezuela’s president and criticizing what he called “covert operations” by the United States.
