For almost two years, Mauro Alberto Núñez Ojeda, alias ‘El Jando’, was a mysterious figure. His name appeared linked to the leadership of the faction Los Chapitos of the Sinaloa Cartel, but it was not publicly known that he played a key role in the delivery of the historic capo Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada to the United States. Today, U.S. authorities and various journalistic investigations point to him as the trusted pilot who flew the aircraft in which the founder of the Sinaloa Cartel crossed the border, a flight that triggered a political crisis between Mexico and the United States and marked one of the biggest blows to a mafia that dominated the global drug trafficking business.
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The revelations about ‘El Jando’ coincide with a crucial moment in the case of ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, 77 years old, who last week agreed to plead guilty in the United States and accept a life sentence. This way, he seeks to avoid a trial that could have resulted in a death sentence.
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The story begins on July 25, 2024, when Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán and member of Los Chapitos, convinced ‘El Mayo’ Zambada to attend a meeting with a politician at a ranch near Culiacán. The purpose of the meeting was to resolve internal disputes of the Sinaloa Cartel. But in reality, it was a trap.
Once there, Zambada was ambushed, subdued by armed men, and forced to board a Beechcraft King Air plane piloted by ‘El Jando’, which took off heading to the United States.
Hours later, the aircraft landed at an airport in New Mexico, where federal agents arrested both ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and Guzmán López.
Later, while already in prison, Zambada published a message denouncing that he was kidnapped by Guzmán López and taken against his will to the United States.
Today Joaquín Guzmán López remains in the custody of U.S. authorities. At the end of last year, he pleaded guilty to charges of drug trafficking and continuous criminal association. His next court hearing is scheduled for August 31, 2026.
The pilot who delivered ‘El Mayo’ Zambada
‘El Jando’ was arrested on February 8, 2025 in the community of Jesús María, municipality of Culiacán, Sinaloa, during a joint operation by the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, the Secretariat of Defense, the Navy, the National Guard, and the Attorney General’s Office of Mexico.
According to La Jornada, he was arrested for carrying a firearm exclusive to the Army, drug-related crimes, was also accused of being the intellectual author of explosive attacks carried out against security forces in November 2024, and accused of sending an armed group to try to rescue Ovidio Guzmán López during the operation known as the Culiacanazo on January 5, 2023.
At the time of his arrest, the Mexican Government identified him as a pilot and trusted logistics operator of Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, son of ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán and one of the leaders of Los Chapitos.
In August 2025, ‘El Jando’ was handed over to U.S. authorities, who sought him for drug trafficking. In April 2026, he accepted a plea agreement with the Department of Justice, according to the newspaper El País.
Initially, Mexico did not link ‘El Jando’ to the investigation of the transfer of ‘El Mayo’ Zambada to the United States.
Only over the months and the release of judicial documents and journalistic investigations was his role in that case revealed.
According to an investigation published by El País last week, Núñez Ojeda was the one who piloted the plane that took off from Mexico and landed in the United States with ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López on board.
That aircraft was later displayed by the FBI in a museum in New Mexico, which reignited controversy over possible U.S. involvement in the operation.
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Although the FBI recently acknowledged that it had control of the plane used in the operation and took credit for the transfer of Zambada, El País’s investigation concludes that the pilot did not belong to the U.S. Government, but was a member of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The finding supports the statement made at the time by then U.S. ambassador Ken Salazar, who said: “It was not our plane, nor our pilot, nor our operation.”
One of the most striking details of the El País report is that, after landing in New Mexico and delivering ‘El Mayo’, the pilot asked to be deported immediately to Mexico, a request that was accepted by U.S. authorities. He then continued operating for the criminal organization until his capture months later.
According to the judicial documents cited by El País, ‘El Jando’ concealed his identity using the passport of a cousin, identified as Alejandro Ojeda Ávila, a practice that allowed him to reduce the risk of being detected during his international movements.
In his plea agreement in the United States, Núñez Ojeda said that his involvement in organized crime began in January 2014, when he connected with members of the Sinaloa Cartel and began working for that criminal structure in support and transportation tasks.
He was secretary and armed bodyguard of Óscar Medina Noé González, ‘Panu’, one of the associates of the Sinaloa Cartel who was killed on December 21, 2025, in the Zona Rosa of Mexico City.
His other role as in charge of radios and communications between commanders and security personnel of the capos led him to have direct communication with Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar.
That link opened the doors to the operational structure of Los Chapitos. ‘El Jando’ first piloted private aircraft and helicopters for the organization and, over the years, rose to coordinate flights, pilots, and ground personnel, supervise the air fleet, and participate in transfer operations inside and outside Mexico. In this way, he became one of the most trusted logistics operators of the criminal group.
‘El Jando’ transported cocaine shipments under direct orders from Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar. The plea agreement mentions a flight in 2017 from Costa Rica with about 400 kilos of cocaine, for which he received around 200 thousand dollars.
In U.S. judicial documents, he admits that he continued participating in similar missions from different points in Mexico and abroad, including Ecuador, transporting hundreds or thousands of kilos of cocaine, as well as weapons and leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Finally, on July 8, the Attorney General of Mexico, Ernestina Godoy Ramos, reported that they had already identified the pilot who transferred ‘El Mayo’.
Godoy Ramos stated that the Mexican Airspace Navigation Services provided the audio in which the pilot requested a transponder code from the control tower of Juárez International Airport to enter the United States. She explained that this allowed, through expert reports, the identification of the pilot, although she did not provide further details.
She only stated that this person had been arrested in Mexico and later handed over to the United States.
On Friday, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, requested that the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) explain under what conditions ‘El Jando’ was handed over to the United States. The president also asked for clarification on when it was known that he piloted the plane in which ‘El Mayo’ was taken to that country.
