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The government of Cuba extradited the Chinese citizen Zhi Dong Zhang to Mexico, who was wanted by Mexican authorities for international drug trafficking offenses, as confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cubaminrex) in an official statement.
"Following a formal extradition request and by decision of the Cuban government, Chinese citizen Zhi Dong Zhang was handed over to the authorities of the government of Mexico," states the note published this Wednesday.
Zhang had been arrested in Cuba on July 31, 2025, accused of document forgery and human trafficking, offenses outlined in the Cuban Penal Code. Since then, he had remained in provisional detention while the extradition request submitted by the Mexican government was being processed.
The statement adds that the individual had been a fugitive since July, when he escaped from Mexican justice, where he was serving a sentence for offenses related to international drug trafficking.
Zhi Dong Zhang, also known as “Brother Wang”, is considered a key player in the trafficking of fentanyl and cocaine into the United States and Mexico. Authorities have pointed to his connections with the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartels, as well as his leadership of a money laundering network that utilized shell companies and bank accounts spread across several countries.
The leader had escaped from Mexico in mid-2025, after benefiting from a house arrest that drew strong political criticism. He then attempted to enter Russia, was denied entry, and ultimately arrived in Cuba with false documentation, where he was arrested by local authorities, according to official sources cited by international media.
The extradition to Mexico concludes one of the most high-profile manhunts of the year and opens the possibility that, once the judicial proceedings in that country are completed, the kingpin may be handed over to the United States, where he faces federal charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. His criminal profile and the details of his international network were revealed in an investigation that reveals his role as a link between China and the Mexican cartels.
The Cuban government's decision to hand over an international fugitive represents a rare occurrence in its foreign policy. Although Cuba has agreements with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), cases of extraditing foreigners involved in drug trafficking are exceptional.
The operation takes place in a context where Havana often denies the presence of criminal organizations in its territory and attributes drug seizures to mere "transit operations" in Caribbean waters. However, the capture of a drug lord like “Brother Wang” reignites the debate about the opacity of drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and the role that Cuba might play in regional flows of drugs and illicit money.
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