A fugitive Chinese national, whom authorities in the United States accuse of trafficking large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine into the country before being arrested and then escaping custody in Mexico, has been recaptured in Cuba, according to Mexican officials.
On Wednesday, Mexico’s Security Cabinet said in a statement that the alleged trafficker, who had escaped Mexican authorities in July, was arrested in Cuba, but did not identify him by name. A federal official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the case, confirmed to The Associated Press news agency that the suspect was Zhi Dong Zhang, also known as “Brother Wang”.
He was indicted in federal court in Atlanta in 2022 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Mexican authorities captured him in Mexico City in October 2024 at the request of the US government. But a judge granted him house arrest, and last July, he escaped the home he was being held in under military guard.
After escaping in Mexico, Zhang had travelled to Cuba and then to Russia, where he was detained for illegal entry and returned to Cuba, according to another Mexican federal agent, who also requested anonymity to discuss the case. The agent said Zhang could be deported to Mexico.
Cuban authorities did not respond to a request from the AP for comment about Zhang on Wednesday.
Zhang’s escape in July came at a sensitive moment for the administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who was trying to hold off crushing tariffs threatened by the Trump administration, which accused Mexico of not doing enough to stop fentanyl smuggling into the US.
Government documents filed in the Atlanta case describe a drug trafficking network led by Zhang that imported cocaine and fentanyl into the US and then distributed it through hubs in the Atlanta and Los Angeles areas. Zhang reportedly called the drugs “coffee” and “food”, respectively, in coded language, the court documents said.
Millions of dollars from the drug sales were allegedly collected at stash houses in Georgia and California and deposited into accounts that Zhang could access from Mexico, the documents said.
Zhang’s recapture comes as the Trump administration escalates its regional attacks on what it says are vessels smuggling drugs.
The US carried out a ninth military strike on a vessel allegedly carrying illicit drugs across international waters, killing three people. For the second time, the boat in question was not in the Caribbean Sea but instead in the Pacific Ocean. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike on Wednesday.
The latest strike opens a new front in President Donald Trump’s growing military campaign against Latin American cartels, raising questions about the limits and legality of his actions.
In the meantime, engaging in a new round of verbal sparring, Trump has called Colombian President Gustavo Petro a “thug” who is “making a lot of drugs”, and the leader of the South American country has threatened legal action against Trump in US courts.
Weeks of escalating tension between Washington and Bogota hit a new level on Wednesday when Trump told reporters at the White House he was suspending all military aid to Colombia due to its alleged role in the international narcotics trade and warned Petro to “watch it”.
Responding to the US president’s threat, Petro took to social media to announce he would take legal action against Trump’s slanderous remarks.
“From the slanders that have been cast against me in the territory of the United States by high-ranking officials, I will defend myself judicially with American lawyers in the American justice system,” Petro wrote on X.
